Iata has marked the occasion on January 1 of 100 years since the birth of commercial aviation by announcing a year-long celebration of the anniversary.
The first scheduled flight operated in 2014 between St Petersburg and Tampa in Florida.
The airboat service across Tampa Bay took 23 minutes. The mayor of St Petersburg paid $400 at an auction to be the single passenger on the route.
More than 8 million people now fly on a daily basis with a total of 3.1 billion passengers recorded in 2013.
That number is expected to grow to 3.3 billion this year – equivalent to 44% of the world’s population.
A website, flying100years.com, is hosting the centennial celebration featuring reference materials and acting as an interactive information hub about commercial aviation.
Iata director general and chief executive Tony Tyler (pictured) said: “Over the last century, commercial aviation has transformed the world in ways unimaginable in 1914.
“The first flight provided a short-cut across Tampa Bay. Today the aviation industry reunites loved ones, connects cultures, expands minds, opens markets, and fosters development.
“Aviation provides people around the globe with the freedom to make connections that can change their lives and the world.”
He added: “Aviation is a force for good. And the potential of commercial flight to keep changing the world for the better is almost unlimited.
“Aviation has always been a team effort. Growing and sustainably spreading the benefits of connectivity will require the industry, governments, regulators and local communities keep true to the ‘all-in-it-together’ ethos that was the bedrock of that pioneering first flight.
“And we should be guided by the long-term interests of all whose lives are positively transformed by commercial aviation every day. A hundred years is something worth celebrating.
“And we look forward to creating an equally remarkable legacy for commercial aviation’s second century.”