Geneva – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that the 2026 World Safety and Operations Conference (WSOC) will focus on the human elements in keeping aviation safe and resilient. Under the theme "Performance Through People" WSOC will take place from 6-8 October in Istanbul, Türkiye, hosted by Turkish Airlines.
"As technology, data, AI, and automation transform how aviation manages risk, this year's WSOC will focus on the people who use these tools every day to make critical decisions in response to disruption, to manage daily operations, or improve processes and ways of working. They need the right skills and support to make the best use of the technologies we are investing in. WSOC brings safety professionals together to share experience, learn from one another, and address these challenges," said Nick Careen, IATA's Senior Vice President, Operations, Safety and Security.
Speakers & Sessions
Alongside Careen and Mark Searle, IATA's Director of Safety, speakers will include:
- Ahmet Olmuştur, CEO & Member of the Executive Committee, Turkish Airlines
- Florian Guillermet, Executive Director, European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)
- Jodi Baker, Deputy Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
- Don Ruhmann, Senior Vice President and Chief Aerospace Safety Officer, Boeing
- Marcus Schnabel, CEO, SunExpress Airlines
- Rachel Barrie, Group Chief Executive, Global Aerospace
- Andrea Sack, Senior Vice President, Global Operations, CANSO
- Elmarie Marais, Chief Executive Officer, GoCrisis
- Abigail Pollard, MD, Blake Emergency Services
Four conference tracks of Safety, Cabin Operations, Operations, and Crisis Management will explore the conference theme in detail, with highlights including:
- Geopolitical risk and its impact on people performance
- Human-centred safety: real-world human factors in action
- The margin of manoeuvre: aligning risk appetite with human performance
- Future-proofing aviation safety talent
- Reframing emergency response planning around human needs
- Integrating mental health, peer support and duty of care into emergency response planning
Workshops
The WSOC program will be complemented by a series of workshops and forums including:
- Connecting People through Safety: Practical approaches to safety management and human factors, including how people and systems interact to influence safety performance.
- Airspace Efficiency & Resilience: Improving coordination, airspace management and information sharing to respond to geopolitical disruption, weather and new airspace users.
- Advancing Safety Insights with GADM: Using new FDX and IDX capabilities to strengthen safety analysis and data-driven decision-making.
- Emergency Response Planning Forum: Sharing experience and best practice to strengthen emergency planning and preparedness.
- IATA Turbulence Aware Forum: A dedicated forum on IATA's Turbulence Aware initiative.
WSOC is open to accredited members of the press.
