They operated over 8,000 flights a day, serving 530 destinations in 140 countries, with a global turnover of €100 billion.

[2] AEA traces its history back to 1952, when the Presidents of Air France, KLM, Sabena and Swissair formed a joint study group, shortly afterwards expanded with the addition of BEA (a forerunner of British Airways) and SAS.

Shortly after the ARB was established, the 1954 Strasbourg Conference on the Coordination of Transport in Europe led to the foundation of ECAC and recommended that participating states encourage air carriers to undertake cooperative studies aimed at promoting an orderly development of air transport in Europe.

The next major change took place in 1983 when the (then) Commercial and Aeropolitical Committee was divided, in recognition of the growing involvement of the EU in air transport matters.

Another overhaul occurred in 1994, with the establishment of five standing committees, including Infrastructure & Environment and Social Affairs.

Furthermore, the Presidents modified the criteria for entry and exit into the association to reflect recent market developments.