The priorities, outlined at the 16th World Cargo Symposium (WCS), which opened in Istanbul yesterday (25/04) are:
• Sustainability
• Digitalisation
• Safety
“Air cargo is a different industry than the one that entered the pandemic. Revenues are greater than they were pre-pandemic. Yields are higher. The world learned how critical supply chains are. And the contribution of air cargo to the bottom line of airlines is more evident than ever. Yet, we are still linked to the business cycle and global events. So, the war in Ukraine, uncertainty over where critical economic factors like interest rates, exchange rates and jobs growth are concerns that are real to the industry today. As we navigate the current situation, air cargo’s priorities have not changed, we need to continue to focus on sustainability, digitalization, and safety,” said Brendan Sullivan, IATA’s Global Head of Cargo.
Sustainability
IATA outlined three other areas where it was working to support the energy transition of the industry:
- Supporting effective carbon calculations and offsetting
- Expanding the IATA Environmental Assessment
- Developing environmental, social and governance (ESG) related metrics
Digitalisation
Air cargo needs to continuously improve its efficiency. The area with greatest potential is digitalisation. IATA outlined three goals:
- 100% airline capability of ONE Record by January 2026
- Ensuring digital standards are in place to support the global supply chain
- Ensuring compliance and support for customs, trade facilitation and other government processes that are increasingly digitalised
Safety
“Alongside sustainability and efficiency is safety. The agenda for air cargo continues to be dominated by lithium batteries. A lot has been done. But, quite honestly, it is still not enough,” said Sullivan.
IATA outlined three safety priorities for air cargo:
- Stopping rogue shippers
- Accelerating the development of a test standard for fire-resistant aircraft containers
- Ensuring recognition from governments
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The full news brief, with further details into each component, can be found here.
