44% of the world’s population set to travel abroad in 2014

January 1, 2014 marked exactly 100 years since the birth of commercial aviation with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) launching a new programme to mark this event.

The year will also see the number of travellers totalling 3.3 billion in 2014, equivalent to 44 per cent of the world’s population.

The IATA in a media statement said it was inviting everyone with an interest in aviation to join a yearlong celebration of the 100th anniversary and take part in a conversation about what needs to happen to make the next 100 years even more momentous.Tracing the history of global aviation, the IATA said:

•On 1 January 1914, a team of four visionaries combined efforts in the first scheduled commercial airline flight.

•Percival Fansler organised the funding for the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line which provided the first scheduled air service across Tampa Bay, Florida.

•Thomas Benoist’s airboat conducted the first flight, piloted by Tony Jannus.

•Abram Pheil, then mayor of St. Petersburg, paid $400 at auction for the 23-minute flight.

These pioneers could not have envisioned the transformational changes that would follow. The industry began with only one passenger on one route on 1 January 1914. Today the global aviation industry provides unprecedented connectivity and positively impacts—directly and indirectly—people in all corners of the world, the statement said. Some key statistics include: •On average, every day more than 8 million people fly. In 2013 total passenger numbers were 3.1 billion—surpassing the 3 billion mark for the first time ever.

•About 50 million tonnes of cargo is transported by air each year (about 140,000 tonnes daily).

•Aviation supports over 57 million jobs and generates $2.2 trillion in economic activity.

•Global airline industry turnover is expected to be $743 billion in 2014.

“Over the last century, commercial aviation has transformed the world in ways unimaginable in 1914. The first flight provided a short-cut across Tampa Bay. Today the aviation industry re-unites loved ones, connects cultures, expands minds, opens markets, and fosters development. Aviation provides people around the globe with the freedom to make connections that can change their lives and the world,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO, in the statement.

“Aviation is a force for good. And the potential of commercial flight to keep changing the world for the better is almost unlimited. A hundred years is something worth celebrating. And we look forward to creating an equally remarkable legacy for commercial aviation’s second century,” said Tyler. Among the commemorate activities are: •A website (www.flying100years.com) was due to be launched in 1 January 2014 to host the centennial celebration. Along with historical and economic reference materials, the website will also be an interactive information hub depicting the value that commercial aviation provides from personal, economic and other perspectives.

•Twitter conversations about aviation’s first century can be linked through #flying100.