Alan Joyce will chair IATA from June 2012

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce will serve as chairman of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Board of Governors from June 2012, IATA has announced.

The announcement, made yesterday at the conclusion of the association’s 67th Annual General meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit in Singapore, will see the Qantas boss succeed newly appointed chairman Peter Hartman, president and chief executive of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

Hartman, who replaces outgoing chairman and FedEx Express chief executive David Bronczek, said he was “honoured and excited” to take on the role at such a “critical time” for air transport.

“IATA’s leadership touches all the critical industry issues from safety and security, to environment and Simplifying the Business,” Mr Hartman said.

“We must continue our joint efforts towards a sustainable aviation industry, to deliver the needed change to react quickly to crises, and also to proactively modernize processes and spread best practices.”

Also announced at the AGM yesterday, was the appointment of former Cathay Pacific chief executive Tony Tyler to the position of Director General and chief executive of IATA, effective from 1 July 2011.

Tyler, who takes on the “heavy responsibility” of leading IATA, succeeds departing boss Giovanni Bisignani, whose retirement from the post he held for a decade will see him become Director General Emeritus.

“I will be a strong advocate for all of our member airlines,” Mr Tyler said.