The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced Saadia Zahidi as its new Director General and the first woman to hold the role, effective 1 November 2026.
The extremely accomplished Zahidi joins IATA from the World Economic Forum, where she is a Managing Director and Member of the Managing Board.
Her appointment at the peak body that represents more than 370 airlines, accounting for around 85 per cent of global air traffic, follows the departure of current Director General Willie Walsh, who concludes his duties on 31 July 2026.
To bridge the intervening period, the IATA Board of Directors has appointed IATA’s Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President for Corporate Services Sandrine Le Borgne as Interim Director General.
Zahidi has spent more than two decades at the World Economic Forum (WEF), where she founded and currently heads its Centre for the New Economy & Society.
She has previously led WEF’s Global Communications Group and Global Programming Group, and founded and co-authored the organisation’s Future of Jobs Reports, Future of Growth Reports, Global Gender Gap Reports and Chief Economist Outlooks.
Her career has also included service on the UN Secretary-General’s panel for Women’s Economic Empowerment and the European Space Agency’s High-Level Advisory Group. She is also the author of Fifty Million Rising, tracking the rise of working women in the Muslim world.
Zahidi said: “I am honoured to help advance IATA’s mission to represent, lead and serve the airline industry at this pivotal moment. Aviation is critical infrastructure for economic growth, trade, tourism, jobs, investment and opportunity.”
“In a rapidly changing world, IATA’s role in bringing the industry together to collaborate through trusted standards, essential services and advocacy has never been more important.
“My top priority will be working with the team and with the industry to build aviation’s future together,” she said.
IATA Board of Directors Chair and LATAM Airlines Group CEO Roberto Alvo said the board was very pleased with the appointment and acknowledged Walsh’s tenure in the Director General role.
“Saadia’s long and outstanding experience at the World Economic Forum will enhance and strengthen IATA as the voice of the world’s airlines,” he said.
“Saadia’s appointment comes at a moment of significant change in the international environment. Technology and geopolitics, among others, will reshape the industry in the future and Saadia brings the right skills to effectively articulate what our industry needs to continue connecting people and economies safely, efficiently and sustainably.
“I thank Willie for his outstanding leadership that helped IATA emerge from the COVID years stronger and with a more representative membership than ever. We now look forward to Saadia taking IATA’s work to even greater heights,” he added.
KARRYON UNPACKS: IATA sets the standards, financial systems and industry positions that underpin how airlines and the travel trade transact worldwide, so the change of leadership is important. Zahidi becomes the first woman to lead the body in its history, stepping in as technology and geopolitics reshape the aviation landscape Australian travellers rely on.
