Yestesrday at A4E’s (Airlines for Europe) Air Cargo: Europe’s Bridge to the Global Economy event in Brussels, Europe’s leading airfreight chief executives unveiled the first ever A4E Air Cargo Policy Manifesto.
The manifesto outlines ways that European Union (EU) policymakers, up to the year 2024, can support air cargo carriers as they strive to become more efficient, sustainable and digitised.
It also urges EU members to demonstrate more harmonised security and customs practices and to make more of a joint effort to digitise the logistics chain. In addition, the manifesto calls for members to support innovative projects in the industry and efforts to achieve sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production.
Although representing 2.6% of trade volumes, European air cargo accounts for nearly 30% of exports and 21% of imports in terms of value, making it a crucial enabler of economic activity in and outside of the continent.
Speaking at the event, Lufthansa Cargo chief executive Peter Gerber, said: “To ensure air cargo’s continuous, sustainable growth over the next decades, joint efforts are needed to preserve and enhance the competitiveness of the sector for the benefit of European consumers and businesses alike. This includes the development of a regulatory framework which focuses on seamless and efficient EU trade with the rest of the world – prioritising security, customs and digitalisation initiatives.”
Thomas Reynaert, managing director, A4E, added: “Given its high operational and infrastructure costs, commitment from EU leaders to the air cargo sector is increasingly important to streamline complex EU regulations and implement them at national level.”
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