Ensuring the sustainability and resilience of the air transport industry and its transition to a sustainable model were the main themes of the 128th General Assembly of the Association des Transporteurs Aériens Francophones (ATAF). This annual event was held in Mauritius on Saturday 1st of October and welcomed all industry decision-makers as well as Honourable Steven Obeegadoo, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Housing and Land Use Planning, and Minister of Tourism.

Founded in 1950, the ATAF aims to promote communication, experience sharing, and knowledge transfer among its members. This forum also represents a means to further industry priorities such as fleet renewal, rising gas prices, or the medium-term extinction of the energy sources on which aviation depends. As a partner member and associate on the Board of the ATAF, as well as acting as the representative of the non-airline operators, Rogers Group was alongside airlines, cargo companies, aircraft manufacturers, tour operators, reservation centres, and travel services from the French-speaking world that participated in this 128th General Assembly.

During a round table discussion with Anne Rigail, Chief Executive Officer of Air France, and Jean-Pierre Mas, President of Les Entreprises du Voyage, on the theme "What responsible approach for the future of air travel?”, Philippe Espitalier-Noël, Chief Executive Officer of Rogers, highlighted that “in addition to the notion of climate justice, there are two important risks to consider for an isolated island like ours: physical risks and the risks of transitions. We are already well aware of the physical risks. Transition risks are the financial impacts of implementing a low-carbon economic model on the economic actors. Such measures will impact tourism, related economies, and the aviation value chain. If we take Mauritius – where the tourism industry represents 25% of GDP – as an example, the double impact of physical and transitional risks can be catastrophic. These are issues that are at the heart of our concerns.”