The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced that the 2025 Wings of Change Europe (WOCE) conference aims to place competitiveness and sustainability at the centre of European aviation policymaking. The event will take place in Brussels on 18–19 November 2025.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced that the 2025 Wings of Change Europe (WOCE) conference will be held on 18–19 November in Brussels, Belgium, hosted by Brussels Airlines.
This year’s WOCE aims to bring competitiveness and sustainability—key issues for the aviation industry—to the heart of European policymaking.
IATA Director General Willie Walsh emphasised the strategic importance of hosting the conference at the centre of Europe’s decision-making process, stating:
“This year, Wings of Change Europe is heading to the heart of European policymaking. Hosting it in Brussels will bring aviation’s potential to revitalise Europe’s air connectivity directly to the regulators’ doorstep. Following Mario Draghi’s report on European competitiveness, WOCE will focus on how competitive and sustainable aviation can contribute to Europe.”
Walsh called on European policymakers to rediscover aviation’s potential for economic growth and to relieve the sector from the burden of overregulation.
Participants and Sessions
The conference will bring together leading European policymakers, aviation leaders, and representatives from regulatory bodies.
Participants include:
- Apostolos Tzitzikostas, European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism
- Jan Jambon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Belgium
- Hugo Espirito Santo, Portuguese Minister of Infrastructure
- Andrey Novakov and Dolors Montserrat, Members of the European Parliament (EPP)
- Filip Cornelis, Director for Aviation, DG MOVE
- Florian Guillermet, Executive Director, EASA
- Elisabeth Kotthaus, Deputy Director, DG MOVE
Some of the industry representatives attending are:
- Luis Gallego, IAG CEO and IATA Board of Governors Chair
- Dorothea von Boxberg, Brussels Airlines CEO
- Mehmet Nane, Chairman of Pegasus Airlines
- Güliz Öztürk, CEO of Pegasus Airlines
- Filip Czernicki, CEO of CPK Airport
- Iacopo Prissinotti, Network Manager Director, Eurocontrol
- Ourania Georgoutsakou, Managing Director, A4E
- Dr Joachim Lang, Managing Director, German Aviation Association (BDL)
The conference will address topics such as the value of aviation, competitiveness, sustainability, infrastructure and capacity, passenger digitalisation, and accessibility.
The event will take place at the Steigenberger Icon Wiltcher’s Hotel in Brussels.
