The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global representative body for the airline industry, on Thursday launched its IATA Digital Leadership Charter. The launch took place at the 2024 IATA World Cargo Symposium, in Hong Kong. The inaugural signatories of the charter are Cathay Cargo, CHAMP Cargosystems, Global Logistics Systems (HK), IAG Cargo, IBS Software, LATAM Cargo and Lufthansa Cargo.

“Digitalisation is imperative for the air cargo industry,” affirmed IATA global head of cargo Brendan Sullivan. “It requires alignment to ensure a unified and effective approach. IATA has introduced the Digitalisation Leadership Charter to spearhead this alignment. By adhering to the Charter’s principles – adopting industry-wide standards, championing sustainability, ensuring ethical technology use and upholding digital leadership – the charter sets a benchmark for excellence.”

The purpose of the charter is to accelerate digitalisation in the air cargo sector. It was developed in a consultative process involving the members of IATA’s Cargo Advisory Council, as well as airlines and members of the broader air cargo community. Smooth and efficient data sharing, using IATA ONE Record, is a central imperative of the charter. The aim is to stimulate innovation, increase efficiency, and encourage a harmonised and sustainable digital transformation.

There are five “guiding principles” in the charter. In the order given by IATA, the first of these is the development of a collaborative and unified digital strategy that advances the use of global standards, and interoperability, across the whole supply chain.

The second principle is to strengthen organisational resilience. This will require the creation of robust digital networks and the implementation of effective cybersecurity strategies, and ensuring that generative artificial intelligence is used responsibly.

The pursuit of sustainable digitalisation, focused on giving support to technology initiatives that are eco-friendly, is the third principle. The fourth is the pursuit of digital excellence, which involves remaining in front of digital trends, enforcing sustainable and secure practices, and setting up industry best practices. The fifth principle is that, when embracing emerging technologies, these new technologies must be used ethically.