IATA Opens WOCA 2026 With Urgent Call to Boost Latin American Aviation

SANTIAGO — At the opening of Wings of Change Americas 2026 (WOCA 2026) in Santiago (SCL), IATA emphasized that Latin American aviation has significant growth potential, but realizing it will require collaboration between governments and industry to lower costs, enhance infrastructure, and foster more competitive conditions.

IATA Regional Vice President for the Americas Peter Cerdá noted that rising oil and jet fuel prices are increasing pressure on airlines with already narrow margins, while taxes, regulatory complexity, and airport congestion remain persistent challenges.

IATA stressed that aviation in Latin America should be recognized as a strategic driver of economic development, tourism, and regional integration, not as a luxury. The association highlighted mixed regional performance: Chile’s air traffic grew by only 0.8% in 2025, with its domestic market experiencing its first decline since the pandemic, while larger markets like Brazil and Mexico continued to demonstrate strong demand.

IATA also reported that 54% of flights in Latin America and the Caribbean now operate through congested airports, underscoring the need for increased investment and improved public-private coordination.

The Dominican Civil Aviation Institute (IDAC) illustrated aviation’s economic significance, noting that 97.8% of visitors to the Dominican Republic arrive by air, according to Director General Igor Rodríguez Durán. This figure highlights not an obvious fact but the critical role of air connectivity for tourism-dependent economies and explains why countries leverage events like Wings of Change to build relationships with airlines, operators, and industry partners.

IATA is also aligning its competitiveness message with a focus on technology. In a separate release, the association reported that recent proof-of-concept trials have shown that contactless international travel using digital identity and biometrics is technically feasible.

These tests, conducted with airlines, airports, technology providers, and governments in Europe and Asia-Pacific, demonstrated that passengers can travel without repeated paper document checks by using secure digital credentials in mobile wallets. IATA stated that the next step requires government action to issue and accept digital travel credentials at scale.

Taken together, the first day of Wing of Change Americas 2026 paints a clear picture of IATA’s current regional message: Latin America’s aviation sector remains a powerful economic enabler, especially for tourism, but it is being constrained by structural inefficiencies and rising costs. At the same time, the industry is demonstrating its ability to modernize the passenger journey through digital identity and contactless processing.

For IATA, the challenge now is turning that combination of economic importance and technological readiness into faster policy action across the region.

Key takeaways from WOCA 2026

1. ‍IATA Puts Fuel Shock at Center of WOCA 2026 Opening: Surging jet fuel costs are now airlines’ top concern. ‍
2. IATA Says Chile’s Air Market Lost Momentum in 2025: Chile’s traffic grew just 0.8% last year as domestic demand slipped. ‍
3. IATA Warns Taxes, Regulation, and Congestion Still Restrain Regional Growth: Latin America and the Caribbean still face high costs, regulatory friction, and airport congestion. ‍
4. IATA Says Lima (LIM) Transfer Fee Has Already Cost Eight International Routes: At WOCA 2026, IATA said Lima’s transfer fee is eroding hub competitiveness and pushing traffic elsewhere. ‍
5. Air Cargo Emerges as a Bright Spot at Wings of Change Americas 2026: IATA highlighted cargo as a regional growth engine, driven by exports, e-commerce, and long-term demand. ‍
6. WOCA 2026 Agenda Turns to Slots, Consumer Rules, Retailing, and Women in Aviation: Day two in Santiago spotlights slot management, consumer regulation, airline retailing, and women in aviation.

The state of commercial aviation in Latin America

Using FY2025 passenger totals and the latest public fleet figures, the Latin American airscape looks like this. We'll do the big players and then the smaller ones. I’m treating LATAM and Avianca as airline groups/brands, and I’m not counting ABRA as a standalone airline.

One caveat for our readers: fleet figures are not perfectly apples-to-apples because some companies publish total fleet while others highlight operating or passenger fleet, and some include freighters. Let's rank.

By passengers (FY2025)

1. LATAM Group — 87.4 million passengers.
2. Avianca — nearly 37 million passengers.
3. GOL — 34.5 million passengers.
4. Azul — 32.0 million passengers.
5. Volaris — 31.0 million passengers.
6. Viva — 29.96 million passengers.
7. Aeroméxico — 24.587 million passengers.
8. Copa Airlines / Copa Holdings — 22.103 million passengers onboard.

By fleet (latest public figure)

1. LATAM Group — 371 total aircraft; 351 passenger aircraft.
2. Azul — around 170 operating passenger aircraft.
3. Aeroméxico — 165 aircraft.
4. Volaris — 155 aircraft.
5. GOL — 146 total aircraft; 129 operational at period-end.
6. Avianca — 140 aircraft.
7. Copa — 125 aircraft at year-end 2025; 126 after a January 2026 delivery.
8. Viva — 100 aircraft.

Stepping down from the top-tier scale, the following is a small watchlist for the Caribbean and smaller-country carriers. Another caveat: Conviasa is also important in Venezuela, but it's outside this “small regional carrier” bucket because of its broader state-backed network footprint.

Caribbean / smaller-island carriers

• interCaribbean Airways (Turks & Caicos) — one of the most important true regional connectors; it says it operates 20+ aircraft and serves 28 cities across the Caribbean.
• WINAIR (St. Maarten / SXM) — a classic small-island network carrier; in August 2025 it said it had expanded to 9 aircraft, serving 17 destinations and 30+ routes.
• Cayman Airways (Cayman Islands) — still small in absolute terms, with 4 Boeing 737-8s, 2 Saab 340B+, and 2 Twin Otters operating its international and domestic network.
• LIAT Air / LIAT (2020) (Antigua & Barbuda) — another key subregional operator; its current destination page lists Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Vincent, and Tortola, and its charter page references ERJ 145 and ATR 42-600 aircraft.
• Bahamasair (Bahamas) — the Bahamian flag carrier remains a smaller regional player, with routes highlighted by the airline such as Nassau–Fort Lauderdale, Nassau–Providenciales, Nassau–Havana, Nassau–Eleuthera, and Nassau–Miami.

Venezuelan and nearby smaller-country carriers

• Avior Airlines (Venezuela) — still one of the more visible private Venezuelan carriers; its site currently highlights service to Colombia and Curaçao, plus domestic points including Caracas, Porlamar, Barcelona, and Maracaibo.
• LASER Airlines (Venezuela) — its homepage currently shows 7 domestic and 3 international destinations, including Curaçao, Bogotá, and Madrid.
• Rutaca Airlines (Venezuela) — another smaller Venezuelan carrier worth tracking; its booking engine currently shows domestic service plus international points including Havana, Panama City, Port of Spain, and Punta Cana.
• Estelar (Venezuela) — small but relevant because it still mixes domestic flying with a limited international footprint; its site shows domestic destinations plus Panama City and Madrid.