The global air cargo industry should, in the opinion of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) prioritise three things. These are the acceleration of digitalisation in the sector; the strengthening of global standards; and reinforcing safety and security. (IATA is the global representative body for the airline industry.)

“Air cargo plays a critical role in connecting businesses to global markets and keeping supply chains moving, even as the operating environment becomes more complex,” highlighted IATA global head of cargo Brendan Sullivan in his opening address to the IATA World Cargo Symposium, in Lima, Peru. “With so many external events impacting global supply chains – including the tariff and geopolitical shocks – it is important that we work on building resilience in areas we can control or influence. Working together to strengthen digitalisation, global standards, and supply chain security will position air cargo well to continue supporting economic growth by connecting products to market.”

Regarding digitalisation, as of January, IATA’s ONE Record end-to-end cargo data sharing standard became the globally preferred means to exchange air cargo data. Airlines that together account for more than 70% of global air waybill volumes are implementing it and are on track.

“Air cargo data still sits in fragmented systems across the supply chain, creating duplication, delays, and compliance risks,” he noted. “This is particularly challenging for high-volume segments such as e-commerce, where house waybill data must remain aligned with airline master air waybill records across multiple systems and jurisdictions; ONE Record represents a foundational shift in how industry shares, manages and trusts data across the supply chain.”

Progress could be accelerated if more airlines and freight forwarders scaled up implementation of the standard, governments allowed the use of ONE Record data in regulatory filings, and technology providers built and deployed interoperable and secure platforms.

“Global standards and fair access to infrastructure are essential,” he stressed. “As global trade evolves, aligning regulatory requirements and ensuring transparent [airport] slot allocation will be critical to maintaining reliable air cargo connectivity.”

The association is focused on strengthening global standards concerning Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGRs), and airport slots. There are now more than 1 200 state and operator variations in DGRs, and while some variations will always exist, this great number only causes complexity in an industry that was founded on global safety standards; where variations exist, they have to be justified, transparent and as close as possible to the global standards. As for airport slots, cargo operators need fair access to airports to ensure efficient cargo operations. A number of major airports, including Dubai, Gatwick and Heathrow, do not grant cargo operators long-term slots, but only ad hoc ones. This should not be the case.

“Safety and security are shared responsibilities across the entire cargo ecosystem,” he emphasised. “Modernising global frameworks and strengthening cooperation between governments and industry will be essential to ensuring that global trade continues to move safety and securely.”

IATA, again, has two main concerns: the safety of dangerous goods, and cargo security. Annex 18 of the International Civil Aviation Organisation covers the safe transport of dangerous goods, but it needs to modernised to cope with issues such as lithium battery transport and undeclared dangerous goods. Regarding cargo security, air cargo supply chains could be subject to malicious disruption. Security solutions need to be modernised, digitalised and aligned. The Consignment Security Declaration (CSD) is a key security tool, and IATA is urging the wider adoption of more accurate and reliable electronic CSD solutions.