ACU-NOV-2020 Final Draft

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C OVE R STORYThe International Air Transport Association (IATA) has since calledon governments to work together to urgently find ways to reestablishglobal connectivity by re-opening borders and keepingrelief measures to sustain airlines during the COVID-19 crisis.“Many airlines will not have the financial means to survive anindefinite shutdown that, for many, already exceeds a half-year.In these extraordinary times, governments will need to continuewith financial and other relief measures to the greatest extentpossible. It's a solid investment in the recovery because eachairline job saved supports 24 in the broader economy. And afunctioning airline industry will be a critical enabler foreconomies to regain their full power,” said Alexandre de Juniac,IATA's Director General and CEO.In July, global passenger traffic fell by nearly 80 percentcompared to July 2019 levels despite some airports and airlinesresuming operations.The air cargo industry, on the other hand, instantly became thestar of the show hauling across continents vital medical suppliesand equipment, including urgently needed necessities such asfood and medicines, in huge quantities.Demand for more freighters prompted many airlines to convertpassenger aircraft to so-called all-cargo flights to increasecapacity. The loss of belly-hold capacity from commercial flights,however, remains a big blow to the air freight industry.IATA said cargo volumes remain low compared to the pre-Covidera but not as much as that of passenger traffic. With globaleconomic activities slowly picking up based on improvingmanufacturing output and new export orders data, air freight isup for more business.“Economic indicators are improving, but we have not yet seenthat fully reflected in growing air cargo shipments. That said, aircargo is much stronger than the passenger side of the business.And one of our biggest challenges remains accommodatingdemand with severely reduced capacity. If borders remainclosed, travel curtailed and passenger fleets grounded, the abilityof air cargo to keep the global economy moving will bechallenged,” said de Juniac.The rise of AI, APIs and other new technologiesLong before COVID-19 struck, the air cargo industry took onsteps to transition from outdated and complicated legacysystems to the more efficient tech-driven and paperless systems.The pandemic though forced the industry to acceleratestreamlining its operations, reduce costs and optimize itsefficiency by using more customized interfaces used fornetworking planning, flight operations, revenue accounting, andother processes.Major air cargo carriers have since switched to tech-drivensystems and beefed up investment on new technologies whichare far more efficient that the traditional way apart fromimproving transparency in the supply-chain operations.These include using AI, APIs, GPStracking solutions and other newtechnologies used in promoting theirservices, providing customer service,tracking, booking shipments onlineor making payments.The use of cloud systems is also in high demand this year and soare videoconferencing and remote collaboration to keep staffproductive and business as well despite the lockdowns.According to IATA, the e-AWB is now used for 2 out of 3shipments, signaling that the industry is ready to take ondigitalization to the next level and go beyond EDI and messagingtechnologies.Currently, IATA said the e-AWB network covers 63% of worldwidetrade (the e-AWB network corresponds to locations where thelegal framework has been created to allow an electronic contractof carriage) and their goal is to have a 100% penetration by 2022.China's unmanned cargo planesWith more than 1.4 billion people, China has the world's biggestdomestic market and consumer demands are increasing.Outside of China, the Chinese population is also rising indifferent parts of the world.Following the pandemic, China had pledged to keepstrengthening its domestic market while luring more foreigninvestors. The seamless movement of goods is an importantaspect to the success of this initiative and the country has vowedto improve its air, rail, land and sea transport systems.Last year, China's biggest air cargo company, SF Express, fourthlargest globally after FedEx, UPS and DHL, signed amemorandum of understanding with Searidge Technologies,among other firms, to set up digital remote air traffic controltowers in China.Pat Urbanek, an IT expert and executive at the Canadian firmAirCargoUpdate
C OVE R STORYSearidge Technologies which specializes on remote digital towersolutions with presence in 25 countries, said their digital remotetower project in China is in line with SF's plan to use plane-sizecargo drones capable of carrying more than 1.5 tons, mainlyparcels for now.“SF Express is the fourth largest cargo and freight company in theworld behind FedEx, UPS and DHL. Their plan is to be able toprovide parcel delivery within 36 hours all over China,” Urbanektold Air Cargo Update.In August, SF successfully operated its unmanned cargo plane,the FH-98, cruising at fast speed. Its success ushers the beginningof a new era in China whereby autonomous cargo planes will beused to fly domestic goods.SF's subsidiary, Feng Bird Airlines, will operate the large-scaledrones for cargo which is mainly targeting to serve remote areasacross China.Urbanek said the future looks bright with technology working toenhance the old systems for the greater good of humanity.AirCargoUpdate
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Page 6 and 7: 22Cover StoryTECHNOLOGY:Air cargo i
Page 8 and 9: TH E LOU NG EFamily, outdoorgames &
Page 10 and 11: G LOBAL N EWSdnata introduces cool
Page 12 and 13: G LOBAL N EWSOnly 28% of cargo indu
Page 14 and 15: G LOBAL N EWSLufthansa Cargo assure
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Page 18 and 19: LO G I STICS N EWSAbu Dhabi Portsac
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Page 43: E X ECUTIVE MOM E NTSOmar HaririSky
Page 46: U P C OM I NG EVE NTSUpcoming Event

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