The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which is the global representative body for the airline industry, has announced the theme for its 2024 World Safety and Operations Conference (WSOC). It is 'Embracing Innovation and Technology for Safe and Efficient Operations'. WSOC 2024 will take place in Marrakech, Morocco, with Royal Air Maroc as the host airline, and will run from October 1 to 3.

“Airlines face common challenges with an operating environment that is growing more complex,” highlighted IATA director-general Willie Walsh. “At the same time, technological advances, including AI, are offering ever greater potential in support of safe and efficient operations.”

WSOC 2024 will take place against a background of increasing operational challenges, not to mention regional conflicts and cybersecurity threats, among others. Airlines are also facing the challenge posed by extreme weather events.

“Safety is aviation’s highest priority and the cornerstone of every airline’s operation,” pointed out Royal Air Maroc board chairperson and CEO Abdelhamid Addou. “For Royal Air Maroc, hosting WSOC is an opportunity to contribute to strengthening the industry’s performance while redoubling our own efforts. This is in particularly sharp focus at Royal Air Maroc as we embark on a major expansion to become a 200-aircraft airline by 2037.”

The conference will have four session tracks. They are – Safety, Cabin Operations, Flight Operations, and Crisis Management. Between them, these tracks will cover a wide range of topics, including the risk-based IATA Operational Safety Audit (better known as IOSA), safety leadership and the IATA Safety Leadership Charter, runway safety, employing AI to improve the use of data and resilience, accident investigations, cabin safety, passenger safety communications, digitalisation and aircraft maintenance, crisis management and family assistance planning, geopolitical risks (the impact of cybersecurity), and regional aircraft operations.

There will also be four major workshops. The Air Traffic Management (ATM) workshop will focus on increasing the operational efficiency of ATM, to contribute to commercial aviation achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The Turbulence Aware workshop will examine how the IATA programme of the same name is transforming the management of turbulence and fuel efficiency by airlines, through the use of real-time aircraft-generated data. The workshop entitled 'How Just Should Your ‘Just Culture’ Be?' will investigate the real value of a Just Culture, beyond regulatory compliance, including in motivating the workforce, reducing losses, and producing important data for risk management. And, 'The Power of Connecting the Dots across Airline Safety and Operations – Agility, Efficiency and Peak Performance' workshop will highlight the importance of integrating operations and safety, thereby improving overall performance and safety results.

“WSOC 2024 is the forum for industry leaders and experts to share knowledge and experience to make the industry even more resilient and robust in the face of emerging challenges,” said Walsh.