ACU AUG-18 3rd DRAFT_08-08-2018

FEATURE
David Kerr, talked about how CLA
had positioned itself to address the
U K a i r c a r g o m a r k e t i n t h e
background of Brexit. “The growth
of UK airports and aviation is not just
about noise and pollution, it is about
trade and the future of UK business.
Air cargo can be the engine of UK's
economic growth and we at CLA
look forward to playing a leading
role in that progress.”
Britain's aerospace industry had a
turnover of US$45.9 billion of which
goods wor th 85 percent were
exported.
Kerr pointed out that “At a time
when the UK government is defining
its aviation policy in the context of
Brexit, we must ensure that the
n e e d s o f t h e c a r g o a n d i t s
importance to UK plc are at the
forefront of everyone's minds.”
Airports, he said, had to give air
cargo priority, away from the low
priority it is getting now, thus
affecting growth of the economy
itself.
e-Commerce will be a key driver
While infrastructure challenges
remained, the need to work around
e-commerce requirements was
underscored by many speakers. The
Managing Director of Seabur y
Consulting, Marco Bloeman, said e-
commerce and small parcels were
keys to growth as indicated by the
results in the last quarter of the
financial year which had significant
number of shipments.
Echoing similar views, Henk
Venema, the Head of Network Carrier
M a n a g e m e n t , D H L G l o b a l
Forwarding, said the e-commerce
s e g m e n t w a s p r o v i d i n g t h e
integrator with challenges. “From a
freight forwarding view we are
doubting if e-commerce is an
opportunity or a competitor for
space.”
The way Amazon and Ali Baba are
leveraging different modes of
logistics is surprising all. The air
cargo sector had to be quick on its
feet to adapt itself to technologies
and work as an industry, rather than
working in silos.
The Chief Cargo Officer
of Turkish Cargo, Turhan
Ozen, said e-commerce
was an opportunity and
that airlines had to look at
ways of tapping this fast
emerging segment. E-
commerce is going to grow
hugely, he mentioned as
end consumers were
looking for speed of
delivery, promptness and
reliability.
Abdulla Shadid, Managing Director
of Cargo and Logistics Services,
Etihad Air ways, said Customs
continued to be problematic for air
cargo business, particularly when
global trade was on the rise.
The variations in Customs from
China to the European Union and the
Middle East were very challenging,
affecting seamless movement of
goods. However, he said with IT
systems coming into play, operations
were becoming seamless and there
was need to invest heavily in such
processes and standardise them
globally.
He also suggested that it's time
human resources pay attention to
industry salaries and how to retain
talents which currently is in short
supply.