IATA calls for focus on open cable trade borders, global standards & modernisation
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called on governments and the air cargo industry to focus on three priorities to accommodate the expanding demand for air cargo and to ensure that the economic and social benefits of aviation can be maximised. The three priorities include accelerating the speed of process modernisation, implementing and enforcing global standards, and keeping borders open to trade. The operating environment for air cargo is increasingly challenging. Demand for air cargo grew by 3.5 per cent in 2018, a significant deceleration from 2017 which saw extraordinary growth of 9.7 per cent. Weakening global trade, sagging consumer confidence, and geopolitical headwinds contributed to a general slowdown in demand growth commencing in mid-2018, and January 2019 saw a year-on-year contraction of 1.8 per cent.
OPEN TRADE BORDERS
IATA has urged governments to keep borders open to trade. Protectionism, trade friction, Brexit, and anti-globalisation rhetoric are part of a genre of developments that pose real risk to business across economies of the world. “We need to be a strong voice reminding governments that the work of aviation, including air cargo, is critically important. Trade generates prosperity and there are no long-term winners from trade wars or protectionist measures,” said Alexandre de Juniac, Director General and CEO, IATA, at the 13th World Cargo Symposium.
GLOBAL STANDARDS
Urging governments to ensure that global standards are consistently implemented and enforced when necessary, de Juniac highlighted two examples. First, he said that global standards for the safe transport of lithium batteries were being ignored by rogue shippers and that governments were not enforcing the rules. “In some cases, we see more effort going into stopping counterfeit production of Louis Vuitton bags than lithium batteries. Both need attention, but lithium batteries are a safety risk and we need governments to do better at enforcement,” he iterated. Second, he said that implementation of global agreements to make trade simpler, cheaper, and faster was the need of the hour. IATA called on governments to implement three important agreements - the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement, the Montreal Convention 1999 (MC99), and revisions to the Kyoto Convention of the World Customs Organisation.
MODERNISATION
IATA also called for the modernisation of industry processes, which will be critical to efficiently meet the doubling of demand expected over the next two decades. The Association also stated the need for modernisation of air cargo facilities. “The e-commerce world is looking for fully-automated high-rack warehouses, with autonomous green vehicles navigating through the facility and employees equipped with Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality tools. The average cargo warehouse today is an impressive sight, but there is a huge gap to fill,” said de Juniac. He said that technology wasn’t the problem, but the speed to market was.