IATA WSOC 2026 heads to Istanbul with the focus on the people behind aviation safety

Aviation has spent the past few years investing heavily in predictive analytics, artificial intelligence and automation, and the question that IATA wants to answer in Istanbul this October is what all of that means for the people who still make the decisions. The 2026 World Safety and Operations Conference will focus on the human elements in keeping aviation safe and resilient, which makes it one of the more relevant safety gatherings of the year for anyone who follows how airlines manage risk.

Why the human focus matters now

Nick Careen, IATA's Senior Vice President for Operations, Safety and Security, says the conference will concentrate on the people who use these new tools every day to respond to disruption and run daily operations, adding that they need "the right skills and support to make the best use of the technologies" the industry is paying for. It is a timely argument, because a safety department can now process more flight data than ever while the judgement call in the flight deck, the cabin or the operations centre still rests with a person. At Airline Ratings we see the same pattern in our own safety work, where the airlines that perform best tend to pair strong systems with well-trained and well-supported staff.

Who is speaking

Careen and IATA Director of Safety Mark Searle will be joined by Turkish Airlines CEO Ahmet Olmuştur, EASA Executive Director Florian Guillermet, the FAA's Jodi Baker, Boeing Chief Aerospace Safety Officer Don Ruhmann and SunExpress CEO Marcus Schnabel. The line-up also includes Rachel Barrie of Global Aerospace, Andrea Sack of CANSO, Elmarie Marais of GoCrisis and Abigail Pollard of Blake Emergency Services, which gives the insurance, air navigation and emergency response sectors a voice alongside the airlines and regulators.

What is on the agenda

The programme runs across four tracks covering Safety, Cabin Operations, Operations and Crisis Management. Sessions that caught our eye include geopolitical risk and its impact on people performance, future-proofing aviation safety talent and integrating mental health, peer support and duty of care into emergency response planning. With airspace closures and conflict zones reshaping route networks over the past two years, the geopolitical session is likely to draw a crowd.

The workshops add a practical layer. They cover safety management and human factors, airspace efficiency and resilience in the face of geopolitical disruption and weather, new flight data capabilities within IATA's Global Aviation Data Management programme, an Emergency Response Planning Forum and a dedicated forum on the Turbulence Aware initiative. Turbulence remains a leading cause of in-flight injuries, so the last of those will interest cabin safety teams in particular.

Getting there

As the official host airline, Turkish Airlines is offering a discount to WSOC delegates on round-trip flights to Istanbul, which extends to one accompanying traveller. Non-IATA member airlines can also take up a group rate of six passes for the price of five. Registration details, the discount terms and the latest programme are on the IATA WSOC page.

Airline Ratings is proud to be an official media partner of WSOC 2026, and will be in attendance at the event.