Progress Report: Sustainability, Digitalization and Safety in Air Cargo

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reviewed progress in digitalization, safety and sustainability at the recent IATA World Cargo Symposium with the aim of accelerating progress on these critical priorities.

“Air cargo volumes are now firmly back to pre-pandemic levels. The challenge now is to ensure that air cargo growth is efficient, safe and aligned with achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Through the hard work of the air cargo industry, the building blocks are in place to significantly accelerate progress in all these areas,” commented Brendan Sullivan, IATA’s Global Head of Cargo at the recently concluded World Cargo Symposium (WCS) in Hong Kong.

Digitalization & Safety

“Safety is critical to air cargo’s success. Last year the industry’s safety record reached new heights. Among the 38 million flights in 2023 there were 30 accidents, just one of which was fatal. A good safety record is earned every day. For air cargo that means continuing to put special emphasis on the handling of dangerous goods, and in particular lithium batteries,” added Sullivan.

Four areas were noted with respect to the safe transport of lithium batteries:

1A test standard for fire retardant shipping containers is ready for approval.

2Over 90 airlines are now sharing dangerous goods incident data through the IATA Global Aviation Data Management (GADM) programme.

3Guidance was published for operators to recognize and mitigate the risks from inexperienced e-commerce shippers using the postal system.

4An update to Annex 18 of the Chicago Convention clarifying responsibilities for the handling of dangerous goods and their effective regulation is now ready for global adoption by states.

Underpinning the safe handling of dangerous goods by air cargo operators is the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR). Importantly IATA renewed and strengthened its partnership with ICAO to publish this critical document in early 2024. And it is supported by numerous innovative tools including the Connect API and DG AutoCheck which are gaining industry traction as the benefits of automating previously paper-based processes are recognized.

“For any industry to survive, change is essential. And constant change for anyone is never easy. However, it is worth it when that change delivers 60mn tonnes of cargo that powers economies, improves peoples’ lives and genuinely makes our world a better place. And that is what inspires us to make our industry more efficient, ever safer and on target for net zero carbon emissions by 2050,” concluded Sullivan.