WORLD AIRLINES CLUBS ASSOCIATION
c/o International Air Transport Association 800 Place Victoria, P.O. Box 113 Montreal, Quebec, Canada H4Z 1M1 Tel.: +1 438-258-3243 • E-mail: info@waca.org • Website: www.waca.org
NEWS FLASH
WACA AGA CONCLUDES ON A GRAND NOTE
The 54th Annual General Assembly (AGA) of the World Airlines Clubs Association (WACA) that ran from 1–6 October at the Amman Marriott, Jordan, was a grand success. The hosts, the Jordan Interline Club (JIC) and its President, Yola Isaac, organisers Ruby Atallah and Yousef Suleiman, welcomed 138 interliners and guests from all over the world.
The opening event enjoyed the patronage of the Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Royal Jordanian Airlines, H.E Samer Majali. He commended WACA for fostering international understanding. He spoke of Jordan's location at the intersection of several world civilizations and the numerous cultural influences on Jordan and invited delegates to enjoy Jordan's culture, cuisine, hospitality and historical sites.
In his address, WACA President, Maga Ramasamy, thanked the hosts for all the hard work and set out WACA’s goals of Sustainable Tourism and increasing awareness of the contribution by the airline industry to social, environmental and educational causes.
The opening ceremony was an impressive display of Jordan’s cosmopolitan cuisine and cultural talent. There was a performance by the highly acclaimed Jordanian Mosaica Singers who have garnered numerous awards for their outstanding vocal harmonies and captivating stage performance, and a performance by Tenor Ady Naber with Mohammad Othman Sidiq on the Piano. (Ady’s mesmerizing voice and impressive vocal range have earned him recognition both nationally and internationally)
The delegates continued WACA's tradition of outreach to local charities. Donations were given to the King Hussein Cancer Foundation and Centre and a visit was made to The Scents of Colours, a special art centre for blind children run by a Jordan Interline Club member and WACA Ambassador for Blind Children, Suheil Baqueen.
The Council bestowed the Member of Honour Award to Anne Senko of the Vancouver Interline Club for her outstanding contribution to the Interline movement. At the traditional regional evening, Member Clubs promoted their cultures, cuisines, national airlines and attractions.
The opening ceremony and the rest of the week-long celebrations are a perfect example of WACA’s multi-faceted approach to bring airline employees together for international understanding, outreach to charity, fellowship and promoting the role and contribution of the airline industry. Delegates learnt more of Jordan through tours to cultural and historical sites during the AGA such as Petra, Jerash, The Citadel and Ajloun Castle and tours before and after the AGA to the Dead Sea, Wadi Rum, Aqaba and Madaba. There was also a most successful pre-AGA Nile Cruise in Egypt.
The event was the third time that WACA’s AGA was chosen to be held in Jordan. The 55th AGA will be held in Mauritius from 18–23 September 2024, hosted by the Indian Ocean Islands Interline Club.
Airline employees who want to join WACA can get more details from info@waca.org.
Silva Kandiah, Chief Marketing/Events Officer.
Established in 1966
