A new venture, under the wing of its sister
publication, saw much interest in the topics
lined up over the two days
waybill. This magazine has
carried a couple of articles on
the subject already in its short
life – and the reader can be
sure that others will follow.
Brussels airport’s Steven
Polmans led the charge,
and whilst recognising that
valuable steps had been taken,
he couldn’t overlook the fact
that this matter really came
under the spotlight back in
2002 – and that it was still
not resolved. Constructing
a food metaphor, he likened
it to someone preparing a
meal – and then spending 15
or so years on the ingredient
shopping list. He was, he
declared, growing hungry…
It was generally
acknowledged that too much
paper was being generated
and that in view of the
astonishingly slow progress
being made, it was arguable
that some other entity should
step in and relieve IATA of the
e-AWB burden. More, since
this so-called transformation
has been so long in coming,
it was highly likely that some
external force would step in –
and that the answer could well
be rather more sophisticated
than that presently deployed.
As he succinctly pointed out,
no progress or profitability
was going to result until every
carrier and agent was on board
with this.
“We’ve got this far but it’s
time to pass on to someone
else now to finish the job.”
Message in a bottle
Pharma is one of the most
important areas in the whole
complex cargo industry –
and it’s the most profitable,
the one that is bucking the
downward slide that has
plagued the cargo market for
almost a year. The pharma
business, declared Burak Kurt
of Celebi, was due to triple by
2060; with annual growth put
at 4.5% and emerging markets
like Brazil, South Africa and
Russia coming into focus,
this was a highly significant
sector. More coldchain
facilities would be required
and competition has grown,
including that of sea freight.
The downside was the
level of product loss. This
ranged from US$2.5-12.5bn,
which IATA deems totally
unacceptable. This begged
the question of how effective
SOPs were; whether the airport
infrastructure was adequate;
whether or not training was up
to date; and how unforeseen
events were tackled.
Such challenges could
be overcome, he felt, and
having been involved in
the new airport in Istanbul,
Kurt felt that much had been
learned, particularly that of
the importance of sharing
information.
From pharma to dangerous
goods: DGOffice’s Herman
Teering was on hand to assist
listeners with some useful
software that rendered the
complexities of DG handling
and training that much easier.
Why the need? Well,
transportation was by its
nature multi-modal, with
no one size fitting all. In a
nutshell, the software could
assist in ensuring compliance
within the freight chain.
Citing a typical air waybill and
its average requirement for 21 documents to be sent 40 times in
20 steps, it was clear that this was no solution at all. Repetition
was the bane of the sector and the disconnect between main
transportation documents and those for dangerous goods was
appreciably evident. Delay and error led simply to the whole
process restarting, so an IT solution could help streamline the
sequence of events – and simplify matters into the bargain.
Thinking outside the box
Talking ULDs might be a little way off yet but as Benoit Dumont
of Unilode related, these containers were developing all the time,
rather in the way that the car does. It was interesting that one
can monitor a US$10 pizza yet following a multi-million dollar
cargo load was less easy. His way ahead? Smarten the ULD, build
the highway and then deliver the data.
Cargo needs humans; and humans need understanding. Dr
Sarah Flaherty spoke on why people do odd things and could this
fundamental problem be solved by training – or retraining?
Sadly not. But she did feel that the environment ought to
support what people have learned and that shortcuts of any kind
ought to be avoided.
Dnata’s progress at Heathrow where its new cargo centre has
been unfolding was explained by the handler’s Gary Morgan and
Mohammed Akhlaq. They also dilated on progress in Manchester:
creating a new cargo model lay at the core of these developments.
A similar tale was unfolded by Burak Kurt who talked about the
cargo facility fit for the future at Istanbul.
Overall, a useful event – and one that will grow in 2020.
www.airlogisticsinternational.com December 2019 51
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