The global representative body for the airline industry, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), is launching initiatives to promote the adoption of AI across the air cargo sector. This was intended to increase operational efficiency, reinforce safety and compliance, and impel innovation along the global air cargo value chain.

“The scope for AI to accelerate air cargo’s digital transformation is enormous,” affirmed IATA global head of cargo Brendan Sullivan. “Together, these initiatives will help to make the most of AI’s potential with an industry adoption that is consistent, interoperable, and aligned with global aviation standards. Importantly, we will learn from these initiatives to identify additional areas where standards, technological innovation, and collaborative development can enable safer, smarter, and more efficient operations.”

The association is initiating three initiatives regarding AI in air cargo operations. They are AI Subject Matter Expert, the Air Cargo AI Excellence Hub, and an examination of the application of AI to interline air cargo.

AI Subject Matter Expert is a mobile and Web-based app, to help operational teams rapidly access information contained in IATA safety and cargo publications. They can do so by asking questions in plain language. They will receive accurate answers within seconds. This will allow faster operational decision-making while strengthening compliance and increasing efficiency, when time is critical. The app will first be made available for the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations and the IATA Cargo Handling Manual, but in due course will cover all IATA reference publications.

The Air Cargo Excellence Hub will bring together airlines, freight forwarders, ground handlers, regulators and technology providers to ensure AI’s orderly integration into air cargo operations. It will permit collaboration regarding best practices in compliance and governance, experience sharing, and the development and roll-out of standards.

The initiative about applying AI to interline air cargo is part of the IATA Strategic Partnerships Programme’s Data & Technology Proof of Concept area. The association and its strategic partners are examining the potential for AI to improve efficiency in interline air cargo. “The parties will work together with the aim of developing a use case to enable airlines using different IT systems to collaborate in real time on bookings, disruptions, and cancellations by using AI agents to achieve system interoperability among users,” explained IATA.