More countries can be expected to follow the US’s lead in requiring advanced information on shipments arriving from abroad, says IATA in its Cargo Operations 2025 Strategic Priorities Report.
The US Air Cargo Advance Screening (ACAS) program was introduced in 2018, and was followed by the European Union’s Import Control System 2 (ICS2) with around 800,000 house consignments being reported daily.
Now, Canada is due to bring in similar rules by November 2024 and further moves are expected in the United Arab Emirates and the UK in 2025, affecting at least 35% of air cargo shipments.
However, IT systems used to operate advanced screening are not without problems, IATA states. The error rate in the EU was up to 6.3% at the beginning of 2024, and the industry has suffered much unplanned IT downtime, something that will continue in the coming months. Moreover, solutions have not yet been found for screening mail transiting the EU, despite a cut-off date of 1 January 2025 for full compliance.
The airfreight industry will meanwhile be putting a special focus on Africa in 2025. IATA says that it stands out as the region with the greatest potential.
Focus Africa aims to develop a safer, better-connected continent and will intensify efforts in areas including operational safety through a data-driven, collaborative program to reduce incidents, develop aviation infrastructure and advance the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM).
Elsewhere in the report, IATA director general Willie Walsh, said that air cargo is moving forward with digitisation and this will accelerate with the growth of AI (artificial intelligence) . However, before digitizing their activities, organizations must have well-defined processes guided by industry-wide standards and common platforms, otherwise, they will struggle to decide which solutions to invest in, he argued.
Finally, said IATA, the air cargo industry urgently needs to adopt more sustainable packaging. The surge in e-commerce – global sales expected to reach US$6.3 trillion by the end of 2024 – has dramatically increased packaging use, particularly single use plastic packaging (SUPP) which, while lightweight and helping to reduce shipping costs can have a severe environmental impact.
IATA is urging companies in the sector to urgently find more sustainable solutions, citing the example of Colombian carrier Avianca Cargo, which uses biodegradable plastics in its pallet covers. These incorporate an organic, food-safe proprietary additive that enables anaerobic bacteria to digest the plastic in just 8-12 years rather than 1,000 years for conventional plastics.
An IATA survey of air cargo stakeholders did find that 75% of organizations have a strategy to reduce SUPP, but their efforts are hindered by challenges including availability, cost, and quality. The research found that only 35% of companies reuse single-use plastic, 26% use recycled plastic products and 11% use biodegradable plastic products. However, more than two-fifths of companies have adopted reusable alternatives.
