ALTA and the government of Ecuador sign a Civil Aviation Cooperation Agreement

Quito, September 14th, 2018 - The Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA), the Civil Aviation Authority of Ecuador and the Ministry of Transport and Public Works of Ecuador today signed a Cooperation Agreement with the objective of establishing the general conditions to promote cooperation and technical assistance in the field of operational safety, air navigation and technical-administrative processes, as well as initiatives to promote a safer and more efficient air transport.

For the aviation industry, safety is key and raising safety standards in the region is a joint effort between all the players in the industry. Under this agreement, the parties will make available their technical capabilities, knowledge, experience, skills, resources and technologies to achieve the cooperation and assistance required to promote a safer and more efficient air transport, which will positively impact the country, the industry and the passengers.

"The agreement with ALTA is of fundamental importance for Ecuador because it will allow us to have updated safety data and comparative analyzes of the region. This will lead to the execution of two international events of fundamental importance for the country," explained the Minister of Transport and Public Works, Boris Paúl Palacios Vásquez.

Within the framework of this agreement, ALTA chose Ecuador as the venue for the tenth edition of the Pan American Aviation Safety Summit, organized by ALTA in association with the Regional Aviation Safety Group Pan America (RASG-PA), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Flight Safety Foundation.

The Pan American Aviation Safety Summit is the most important safety conference in the region, focused on analyzing trends and developing critical solutions for the future of the aviation industry and to offer passengers the highest standards of safety. The RASG-PA plenary meeting will be held in this summit, bringing together in Ecuador the civil aviation authorities of the region to discuss the main aviation security issues.

"The agreement we signed today will mark a before and after for Ecuadorian civil aviation and will ratify the commitment of the three institutions to work together to benefit the aeronautical sector of Ecuador and the continent," said Carlos Álvarez Mantilla, Managing Director of Civil Aviation of Ecuador.

Luis Felipe de Oliveira, ALTA Executive Director, commented: "From ALTA we are very pleased with the signing of this agreement with the Civil Aviation Authority of Ecuador and the Ministry of Transport and Public Works. Safety is our number one priority and I am convinced that raising safety standards in the region requires a joint effort among all players in the aviation industry. The signing of this cooperation agreement will allow us to share data, experience and resources for the implementation of safety measures, routes and projects and to work hand in hand in continuing to make air transport the safest and most efficient means of transportation."

The travel and tourism sector in Ecuador is a great engine for the economy, generating more than 344,000 jobs (direct, indirect induced) and contributing with more than $5 billion dollars to GDP, according to WTTC. In the last decade, Ecuador's domestic market has almost doubled its traffic, and growth prospects are very positive, so ALTA, the DGAC, the Ministry of Transport and Public Works and the Ecuadorian government aim to boost the growth of a safer, more efficient and sustainable air transport that continues to drive the economic and social development of the country through investments, new sources of employment, tourism and international integration.

"In Latin America we still fly a third of the time that Europeans fly and a quarter of the time that Americans fly. We have enormous growth potential with perspectives to double the number of passengers in the next 10 years, and in ALTA we will continue working so that Latin America can be better connected, and all our nations receive the contributions generated by aviation," added de Oliveira.

In addition to the Safety Summit, ALTA will bring to Ecuador the 13th edition of ALTA Aviation Law Americas, ALTA's aero political and legal affairs conference. Two big events that bring together industry experts from the Americas, the Caribbean and Europe will host this great country in 2019.