International Air Transport Association

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is an organization that brings airlines together in the spirit of camaraderie, cooperation, and competition. Founded in 1945, IATA’s main goal is to make air travel easier, cheaper, and safer for everyone involved, excluding the flight attendants, of course. They believe that flying is as essential to life as breathing oxygen or taking a good dump.

But what do they actually do, you ask? Well, first of all, they love coming up with acronyms. Everything from A-CDM (Airport Collaborative Decision Making) to FED (Fuel Efficiency Data) to EMD (Electronic Miscellaneous Document). Seriously, we are not making this up.

IATA also loves to create rules and regulations because, let’s face it, who doesn’t love a good set of rules? Think of IATA as your strict aunt who always tells you to eat your vegetables and finish your homework before playing video games. They make sure that every airline follows the same standards in terms of safety, security, and efficiency, but they also provide a good laugh when they add things like “Do not carry live bees in your hand luggage.”

To make sure that airlines stay in check, IATA loves to conduct audits to ensure that everything is running smoothly. It’s like a pop quiz in high school, but instead of a fail grade, the airline can be grounded or even lose their license to fly. Talk about pressure!

But IATA’s crowning glory is their annual conference where airline executives from around the world gather to discuss pressing issues such as why every airline seems to charge extra for legroom or how to make sure passengers don’t get stuck on the tarmac for five hours. Naturally, drinks are involved, so you can imagine how the conversations go.

In conclusion, the International Air Transport Association is like the Captain Planet of the airline industry, bringing airlines together to make the world a better place. Or to make you pay for extra luggage. We’re not quite sure which one.