The Arab Air Carriers Organization expressed its disapproval of the EU's intent to include aviation in its Emissions Trading Scheme and called upon the Arab states to support "the stance against any individual measures in order to avoid economical imbalance that the global air transport industry ensures without leading to any additional environmental benefit."

In a resolution adopted last week at its annual general meeting in Damascus, AACO also offered its support to efforts by IATA and the Arab Civil Aviation Commission to keep legislative measures relating to the environment within the ICAO framework.

"Yes, this resolution is clearly directed towards the EU's plan to include aviation in its ETS and against each unilateral measure in this global industry," AACO secretary general Abdul Wahab Teffaha confirmed. "Since the environment topic is truly a global issue, there is no point in having individual measures even if they were of a noble nature," he added, stressing Arab carriers' "excellent" environmental record. He noted that the age of the region's fleet averages fewer than eight years and is "by far the youngest fleet in the world." Moreover, he said, Arab airlines operate point-to-point flights where there is no practical alternative to air transport.

AACO agreed to set up a monitoring system to audit airlines' environmental performance. Teffaha said, "This is a self-monitoring, self-disciplining system with the aim to find and to implement ways to reduce the effect on the environment. We will now get in touch with IATA and will soon organize workshops to raise awareness amongst the member airlines and set up training programs to prepare the monitors or environmental experts. We are the first in the world to set up such an initiative and invite the world airlines to take similar steps through IATA."

Separately, AACO elected a new executive committee that in turn selected EgyptAir Holding Co. chairman Atef Abdelhamid as chairman for the next three years. It also elected TunisAir chairman and president Nabil Chettaoui as AACO president for 2008.