High-profile turbulence injuries to be examined by global airline body in bid to boost flight safety
- International Air Transport Association head Willie Walsh pledges industry will continue to work to reduce risk of turbulence injuries
- Promise comes after incidents on Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways flights leaves one dead and more than 100 injured
A global airline association is to examine recent high-profile turbulence incidents to get a better grasp on the causes and help carriers boost safety, its head has said.
Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), told its annual meeting in Dubai on Monday that they would look into the safety risks and assess the situation after two airline turbulence incidents left one man dead and more than 100 injured.
“Turbulence is not a new issue,” Walsh said. “It has been a factor in the industry for many years.
“Obviously we’ll continue to assess the recent events to understand it better and see if there is anything else that can be done.
“But there is a lot of work going on to ensure that we continue to move forward and enhance the safety of our operations … we never stand still and we never rest.
“We’re all the time working to continue to improve.”
