IATA Wings of Change Americas Conference Heads to Bogotá

Translations: La Conferencia Wings of Change Americas llega a Bogotá (pdf)

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that this year’s Wings of Change Americas (WOCA) Conference will be taking place on 25-26 June at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Bogotá, Colombia, with avianca as the host airline.

The aviation industry’s premier event in Latin America and the Caribbean is being held under the theme “The Connectivity Frontier: Exploring New Opportunities in the Region”. The agenda highlights the critical importance of collaboration between the aviation industry and governmental bodies, with a specific focus on enhancing regional connectivity and competitiveness. Specific topics include travel and tourism, technology and innovation, operations, sustainability and distribution.

Frederico Pedreira, CEO & President, avianca, and Peter Cerdá, Regional Vice President for the Americas, IATA, will be speaking at the event together with many of the region’s top airline CEOs:

• Roberto Alvo – CEO, LATAM Airlines Group
• Pedro Heilbron – CEO, Copa Airlines
• Estuardo Ortiz – CEO, JetSMART Airlines
• Adrian Neuhauser – CEO, Abra Group
• Erika Zarante Bahamón – CEO, LATAM Airlines Colombia

Reflecting the conference’s objective to create solutions across the aviation value chain, the speaker lineup also includes cross-section of industry stakeholders, including:

• Arturo Barreira – President, Airbus Latin America and the Caribbean
• Natalia Bayona – Executive Director, UN Tourism
• Ricardo Bernardi – Partner, Bernardi & Schnapp
• Carolina Betancourt – SAF Project Manager, BioD S.A
• Rafael Echevarne – Director General, ACI-LAC
• Natalí Leal – General Manager, OPAIN
• Victoria Platt – Vice President, Airline Strategy & Transformation, SITA
• Roberto Roselli – CEO, Plus Ultra
• Harris Whitbeck – Minister of Tourism, Republic of Guatemala

The aviation industry is a key contributor to economic and social development across Latin America and the Caribbean. The sector supports more than 8.3 million jobs and generates an economic contribution of some USD 240 billion in GDP (2023). Estimates show that these figures are set to nearly double by 2043 to 15 million supported jobs and USD 500 billion in GDP contribution.

Bogotá was selected as the venue given the growing importance of the Colombian aviation market. In 2023, the air transport value chain contributed USD 15.5 billion or 4.3% to Colombia’s GDP and supported some 921,000 jobs.

Full details on WOCA, registration & current program

Media wishing to be accredited for the event should email: woca@iata.org

The Wings of Change Americas Conference is now in its 15th edition and is complemented by Wings of Change Conferences in Africa and Europe, planned for 8-9 July 2025 in Dakar, Senegal and 18-19 November 2025 in Brussels, Belgium.

Notes for Editors:

• IATA (International Air Transport Association) represents some 340 airlines comprising over 80% of global air traffic.
• You can follow us on X for announcements, policy positions, and other useful industry information.
• Fly Net Zero