Human connections bring inspiration despite persistent crises

Aviation CEOs reflected on what continues to motivate them at the IATA Congress 2026 in Rio de Janeiro amid ongoing challenges in the industry.

Adrian Neuhauser of Abra Group shared that look I always make the analogy that I have been here seven years now that it is like a video game when you get past one stage the only reward is that you get to the next stage that is more difficult there is always another monster right so but what we do is magical we always forget we take we get stuck in the okay yes we are tired again whatever but we connect people it is almost like time travel right you fall asleep in one place you wake up in another it is a different world you connect you see your friends you do business you visit you get to know so there is you bring it back to the human aspect and what you are doing and what the underlying business really is and it is magical and it excites you all over again and you go for the next stage.

Luis Rodrigues of TAP Air Portugal shared that a couple of things not waking up every day and not knowing what is going to be on the table and reading appreciation letters somebody we reunited some sick children we brought to their parents some old people we got home and that is what drives us every day. He shared further that you have to not only make time to read them but to call the crews who handle the issue appreciating their effort and their contribution and should make sure we perpetuate that attitude.

Güliz Öztürk of Pegasus Airlines shared that exactly yeah but the dynamism maybe which is like you do not know what to expect but still you have to be prepared so that is something that keep you awake and also the bouncebacks after the crisis are always very satisfactory and which gives you that hope for the future because at the end we have to as our board members said it correctly in the last board meeting we have to plan for the worst but hope for the best.

Con Korfiatis of Oman Air shared that so the connectivity we as an industry bring to the world and the joy it gives to humanity which has been around ever since aircraft were invented and there was fly travel and just seeing that and it never goes away. He shared that by staying close to your customer and listening to your customer and recounted that we had a quite an exodus at the end of February and early March from the region as you know a lot of traffic came over the border into Oman because our airport was open and our on time performance suffered because of the pressure it had put on the system our on time performance was horrible our catering facilities ran out of food the restaurants ran out of food it was crowded it was congested it was a very difficult environment people were dealing with a lot of stress our NPS score went through the roof this is what we do for humanity this is what we do for people and that is incredibly inspiring and it drives me to do what I do every single day and it has for over thirty years and it would for as long as I live it would be the same.