China Aviation News Network (Reporter Li Meijing): On March 10, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) emphasized three priorities for the global air cargo industry: accelerating digitalization, strengthening global standards, and improving safety and security.
"Air freight plays a crucial role in connecting businesses with global markets and ensuring smooth supply chains, even in an increasingly complex operating environment," said Brendan Sullivan, Global Head of Cargo at IATA, at the opening ceremony of the IATA World Cargo Symposium in Lima, Peru. "Given the impact of numerous external events such as tariff shocks and geopolitical instability on global supply chains, we must focus on building resilience in areas we can control or influence. By working together to advance digitalization, global standards, and supply chain security, air freight will be better positioned to sustainably support economic growth and connect products with markets."
Accelerating Digitalization
"Currently, air freight data is still scattered across different systems throughout the supply chain, leading to duplicate entries, process delays, and compliance risks. This problem is particularly pronounced in high-volume market segments such as e-commerce, where sub-air waybill data must be consistent with the airline's master air waybill record across multiple systems and different jurisdictions. ONE Record represents a fundamental change in the industry's supply chain data sharing, management, and trust mechanisms," Sullivan pointed out. Since January 2026, ONE Record, as the end-to-end cargo data sharing standard, has become the preferred method for air cargo data exchange.
Strengthening Global Standards
To ensure consistent implementation of global standards and guarantee efficient cross-border cargo flow, IATA is focusing on strengthening global standards in the following two key areas:
Danger Goods Regulations (DGR): More than 1,200 different provisions have been established by various countries and carriers regarding the transport of dangerous goods. In the air transport industry, where safety is based on globally unified standards, this undoubtedly increases operational complexity. IATA points out that while differing provisions are inevitable, they should be transparent, well-founded, and aligned with global standards as much as possible.
Airport Slots: Fair access to airport infrastructure is crucial for ensuring efficient cargo operations. At some major hub airports-including Bogotá, Dubai, Heathrow, and Gatwick-cargo airlines often only receive temporary or provisional slots, rather than historical slots, which limits operational flexibility and long-term planning capabilities. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) emphasizes that airport slot allocation should adhere to the principles of the Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines to ensure fairness, transparency, and non-discrimination.
Safety and Security
Continued attention is needed to ensure that the dangerous goods safety framework and supply chain cargo security processes are up-to-date and address evolving operational and security risks.
Danger Goods Safety: Annex 18 of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is the global foundation for the safe transport of dangerous goods by air. However, modernization is required to ensure that regulations reflect the current state of today's digitalized, rapidly evolving supply chains and address emerging risks such as undeclared dangerous goods and lithium battery misuse.
Cargo Security: The air cargo supply chain can be a potential target for malicious sabotage, highlighting the need for consistent and modernized security processes. Cargo Ship Security Declaration (CSD) is a key compliance tool, but its implementation varies across countries. IATA calls for wider adoption of electronic cargo ship security declaration (e-CSD) solutions to improve data accuracy, reduce manual operations, and support more efficient security oversight. The International Air Transport Association also emphasized the need to strengthen the coordination and consistency among the various items in the Pre-declaration of Cargo Information (PLACI).