A further loss of US$9 billion is projected this year, even as airlines worldwide sustained losses of more than US$10 billion last year, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

More than 100 civil aviation senior officials gathered here on Thursday from over 40 countries and regions at the 3rd World Civil Aviation Chief Executives Forum to discuss the challenges that the civil aviation industry faces today.

Raymond Lim, Singapore's Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs said in his keynote address that the IATA projected that the global air cargo demand is expected to decline by 17 percent in 2009, while passenger demand is expected to contract by 8 percent to 2.06 billion travelers compared with 2.24 billion in 2008.

According to Lim, the aviation system is challenged by further concerns, such as aviation's impact on the environment, and the effect of the spread of the A/H1N1 virus on air travel.

However, the global aviation safety record has made good progress in recent years. International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) figures show that the air accident rate has significantly declined from 19 accidents per 10 million departures in 1990 to only four accidents in 2008. The absolute number of fatal accidents also declined from 29 in 1990 to 11 in 2008.

Lim touched on the importance of international cooperation in addressing cross-border issues such as air traffic management enhancement, aviation security, mitigating the spread of communicable diseases, and environmental protection.

"With the cooperation and commitment of all stakeholders, the aviation world can weather the present storm and emerge stronger, and more resilient," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 6, 2009)