The panel session at this year’s World Routes Strategy Summit that created the most debate was certainly the Sunday morning ‘State of the Industry’ session where respected industry officials such as Angela Gittens, Director General, ACI World; Jim Marriott, Chief - Aviation Security Branch, International Civil Aviation Oganization (ICAO) and Thomas Stephen Windmuller, Senior Vice President - Airports, Passenger and Cargo Services, International Air Transport Association (IATA) shared their views on the business.

Coming immediately after the ICAO Air Transport Conference, the discussion centred on the historic outcomes from the meeting, but also explored such questions as how the aviation industry can encourage faster liberalisation? How do we level the playing field? What are the implications for liberalisation and how do we prepare our airlines? How do we identify and regulate unfair state subsidy? What would a normal economy mean for Aviation?

The HUB met up with Thomas Stephen Windmuller immediately after the panel to learn more about his views on the industry. In our interview Windmuller highlights that there is a massive global divide between those states in the world that understand the value of aviation in driving local economies, such as Singapore, Hong Kong, UAE and Qatar and those that are “addicted to taxes”.

“The UK Air Passenger Duty is the worst one in the world today,” he said. “But even here in the United States, for example, aviation is taxed like sin taxes on alcohol and tobacco. It is a constant battle!” Find out more in the video, below.