Berlin world's aviation capital: IATA

The International Air Transport Association has declared Berlin - world's aviation capital as the city prepares to host 600 industry leaders for the 66th IATA Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit from 6-8 June 2010.

The official program starts at 0900 CET on 7 June with the State of the Industry address by Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's Director General and CEO. "We are meeting as the industry continues its recovery from the global financial meltdown and turbulent decade of cycles and shocks that resulted in accumulated losses of nearly $50 billion. A strong traffic growth trend prior to the setback of the Icelandic volcano is improving the industry's bottom line prospects. It is finally time for some cautious optimism," said Bisignani.

The event is being hosted by Lufthansa. Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO Deutsche Lufthansa's AG, is a member of the IATA Board of Governors. Germany has hosted two previous AGMsâ€Hamburg in 1985 and Munich in 1968. "We are pleased to be meeting in Berlin, a city that is a great symbol of change and resilience," said Bisignani.