Q&A with New ACI World Director General: Luis Felipe de Oliveira

Earlier this summer, Luis Felipe de Oliveira took over the reins of ACI World. Keen to get to know the new Director General, the Regional Office (RO) posed some questions.    

RO: What is your goal for ACI as the association of the worlds’ airports?  

LPO: One of my main goals is to cement ACI World’s position as a leading global trade organization in the aviation industry.   

Airports provide a unique and essential service in connecting people, business and in supporting the sustainable social and economic development for the communities we serve. They account for 60% of all employment in the aviation sector and play a vital role in facilitating global economic and social prosperity, particularly in developing countries.   

The vision is to further ACI’s role as a key influencer and one of the main drivers of change in our industry.   

RO: What, if anything, can the airport industry learn from the pandemic?   

LPO: We are going through what by every measure is a great crisis – a global health crisis unlike any we have experienced before. Most argue that the world we are entering will be fundamentally different from what existed before. We have an opportunity to take a step forward as a collective consciousness and I believe that the world will become more united after the coronavirus pandemic.   

Harmonization in our industry will be key considering the importance of aviation on the recovery not only for tourism but for the global economy as well. For that reason, governments, airports, airlines and all other connected business need to be united. Global collaboration between us and our global partners will be essential for the industry to successfully sustain a balanced recovery and come out of this stronger together.  We are all in this together. We need to learn as much as we can from this experience and to try to anticipate and prepare for the various ways in which things could unfold in the future.   

RO: Which three countries in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East region are you most interested to visit and why?   

LPO: I love Asia and its diverse cultures and incredibly kind people. I always enjoy visiting Asia for business and with my family from Singapore, Shanghai, Busan, Sydney, Muscat, Kota Kinabalu, Bahrein, Hanoi, Komodo Island and many other beautiful places from which I have fantastic memories. And the food is... amazing!!!  I have always had a special connection with the region – Thailand in particular holds a very special place in my heart.  In 2004, my wife and I were on our honeymoon in the Phi Phi Islands when the tsunami hit the coasts of Southeast Asia. Luckily, we were able to escape and survive this devastating natural disaster. Despite the horrific experience, my family and I have gone back to Thailand on several occasions and will continue to do so in the future.  The countries that I am most interested in visiting for the first time are Cambodia, Japan, Myanmar and New Zealand.