Dhaka: Seven new airlines have joined the community of International Air Transport Association (IATA) members in 2023.

These seven airlines are SalamAir, Challenge Airlines, Tag Airlines, CemAir, GlobalX, Myanmar National Airlines, and Plus Ultra.

SalamAir is a low-cost airline from Oman headquartered and based at Muscat International Airport. The airline operates flights to and from Dhaka and Chattogram of Bangladesh.

Challenge Airlines is a Belgian cargo airline based in Liege Airport. The carrier operates air cargo services throughout Europe, America, Asia, Middle East and Africa. Challenge Airlines launched service operations in mid-2019.

TAG Airlines is a private passenger and cargo airline with its headquarters in Guatemala City, and its main hub is at La Aurora International Airport. Besides regular flights between the capital and Mundo Maya International Airport of Flores, the airline offers charters, ambulance flights and agricultural flights, both domestic and international, to Copán, Honduras.

CemAir is a privately owned airline operating in South Africa, servicing popular tourist destinations and important business towns, as well as leasing aircraft to other airlines across Africa and the Middle East. The airline's head office and engineering and maintenance facility are located at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.

GlobalX Airlines is an American domestic, flag, and supplemental charter airline headquartered in Miami, Florida. The airline was founded in 2019. GlobalX provides ad-hoc passenger charter and cargo airlift to destinations throughout the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America.

Myanmar National Airlines, formerly Union of Burma Airways, Burma Airways, and Myanma Airways, is a state-owned airline and the flag carrier of Myanmar, based in Yangon. Founded in 1948, the airline operates scheduled services to all major domestic destinations and to regional destinations in Asia.

Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas is a Spanish long-haul airline based at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport. On June 15, 2016, the airline started operating regular flights.

From 57 founding members in 1945, IATA now represents some 300 airlines in over 120 countries. Carrying 83 per cent of the world’s air traffic, IATA members include the world’s leading passenger and cargo airlines.

IATA membership is open to airlines operating scheduled and non-scheduled air services that maintain an IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) registration.

It may be mentioned here that airlines benefit from IATA membership in several ways. Most importantly, IATA provides a powerful, unified and experienced voice that supports and promotes the interests of its members through: international recognition and lobbying, targeting key industry priorities, driving industry change, reducing costs, communication campaigns, and training and other services.