ABSTRACT
In October 2008, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) held the Agenda for Freedom Summit in Istanbul with representatives of 14 nation states and the EU. The purpose of this summit was to discuss the further liberalization of the aviation industry. The participants agreed that further liberalization of the international aviation market was generally desirable, bringing benefits to the aviation industry, to consumers and to the wider economy. To explore the effects of further liberalization, the participants asked IATA to undertake studies to examine the impact of airline liberalization on the aviation industry, air passengers and the wider economy, focusing on 12 countries that participated in the summits. IATA commissioned InterVISTAS to undertake these studies, with aim of investigating two forms of liberalization: market access (i.e., liberalizing bilateral agreements) and foreign ownership and control.
