The International Air Transport Association (IATA) began its 16th World Cargo Symposium in Istanbul today, highlighting three priorities that the association says will enable the air cargo sector to maintain momentum against the backdrop of a challenging operating environment.
The priorities include sustainability, digitalisation and safety. Brendan Sullivan, IATA’s Global Head of Cargo said: “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, digitalisation, and safety.”
Making aviation greener
In October 2022, governments agreed to a ‘long-term aspirational goal’ of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, which is in line with the industry’s commitment adopted in 2021.
IATA says sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is critical to achieving this goal and that 65% of carbon abatement will come from SAF but production levels remain challenging. “SAF is being produced. And every single drop is being used,” said Brendan Sullivan. “The problem is that the quantities are small. The solution is government policy incentives. Through incentivising production, we could see 30 billion litres of SAF available by 2030.
“That will still be far from where we need to be. But it would be a clear tipping point towards our net zero ambition of ample SAF quantities at affordable prices.”
In addition, IATA highlighted supporting effective carbon calculations and offsetting through the development of accurate and standardised emissions calculation methodology and the launch of CO2 Connect for Cargo later this year, which is a precise tool for calculating emissions from operations.
Championing digitalisation
An area with greatest potential to enhance productivity is digitalisation and IATA outlined three goals:
- 100% airline capability of ONE Record by January 2026. This initiative will replace the many data standards used for transport documents with a single record for every shipment. The Cargo Services Conference agreed on Sunday that it wants to achieve 100% airline capability by 1 January 2026 and the Cargo Advisory Council supports this vision.
- Ensuring digital standards are in place to support the global supply chain. Guidance has been finalised on tracking devices – the IATA Interactive Cargo guidelines – used to monitor the quality and accuracy of conditions of time and temperature sensitive goods being shipped across the world.
- Ensuring compliance and support for customs, trade facilitation and other government processes that are increasingly digitalised. Digitalisation plays an important role in evolving strategies for trade facilitation, reducing operational barriers at borders and managing the flows of goods securely.
IATA also outlined three safety priorities for air cargo which include stopping rogue shippers, accelerating the development of a test standard for fire-resistant aircraft containers with a fire involving lithium batteries and ensuring recognition from governments of the single standard to identify all lithium battery powered vehicles which comes into effect from 1 January 2025.
“Air cargo is a critically important industry,” said Sullivan. “It helps build a better future for the people of the world. it’s an industry that saves lives, delivering aid and relief to those in need. The industry mobilised to support those affected by the earthquakes in Syria and Türkiye.
“Working together to ensure that air cargo remains a reliable and efficient means of providing support to those in need, while simultaneously strengthening our global supply chains and contributing to the sustainable development of our economies is essential.”
