ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Willie Walsh, chief executive of International Airlines Group (IAG) and one of the aviation industry's most prominent airline executives, will be the keynote speaker at Flight Safety Foundation's 70th annual International Air Safety Summit (IASS) later this month in Dublin, the Foundation announced today. IAG is the parent company of British Airways, Iberia, Vueling, LEVEL and IASS host airline Aer Lingus.
"We are thrilled that Willie Walsh will be speaking at IASS in Dublin," said Foundation President and CEO Jon Beatty. "It seems appropriate that the industry's preeminent annual safety event should be opened by one of the industry's preeminent leaders. We appreciate his support and are looking forward to his remarks."
Walsh has been chief executive of IAG since January 2011, joining from British Airways, where he had been chief executive since October 2005. He joined Aer Lingus in 1979 as a cadet pilot and became a captain in 1990, before moving into management roles. He became chief executive of the airline in October 2001.
More than 300 aviation safety professionals from around the world are expected to attend IASS 2017, which will be held Oct. 23-25 in Dublin at the Clayton Hotel Burlington Road. Safety topics to be addressed include fatigue management, aircraft automation, controlled rest on the flight deck, training, mentoring, the carriage of lithium batteries, safety management system tools, and the use of data in improving safety.
Also, again this year, a separate maintenance and engineering (M&E) track will be held on the second day of the event, and registered attendees are welcome to attend either the general session or the M&E track.
IAG is one of the world's largest airline groups, with 547 aircraft flying to 268 destinations and carrying more than 100 million passengers each year.
Flight Safety Foundation is an independent, nonprofit, international organization engaged in research, education, advocacy and publishing to improve aviation safety. The Foundation's mission is to be the leading voice of safety for the global aerospace community.
