Cargo Pulse

Astral Aviation has been in operation for the past 22 years, based out of its Nairobi Hub, they have been serving the African Continent through efficient and innovative air logistics solutions.
As part of the TIACA membership Astral aviation has benefited through world class innovative solutions through benchmarking with the best in class cargo logistic peers and it is in this prism that Astral Aviation is proud to be part of the initial cohort of the launch members of the Blue Sky sustainability initiative.

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) – the largest independent handler at the world’s top air cargo hub – has felt a strong duty for many years to operate in a sustainable manner. Our Green Terminal initiative, launched in 2018, formalised our existing policies and actions, and assisted in the creation of the sustainability agenda which is now a fundamental principle of our business.

Global passenger traffic will double in the next 15-20 years – and cargo is not far behind. Amidst this growth, the aviation sector needs to urgently accelerate its green transition to limit sky-rocketing emissions.

When it comes to climate impacts, aviation is under the microscope more than other industries – and with good reason. While the contribution of air transportation to the global carbon footprint is at 2% this could grow to 20% by 2050. The visibility of the industry, and its pivotal role in globalisation creates a societal responsibility that needs to be taken seriously.

The 2022 TIACA Sustainability Insight report indicated that 73% of responders have a sustainability strategy in place which reflects the growing importance of the topic. With growing interest from customers, employees, lending institutions, regulators and partners as to an organizations sustainability credentials it can indeed be considered as a license to operate and indeed a license to grow.

If you look at almost any IATA CASS operation around the world you will see that GSSAs account for a large portion of the carriers who participate. This tells us two very important facts about today’s air cargo distribution system.

Situation analysis at the time was pretty much – most of the world went home but expected (hoped) services would continue. Therefore some were designated essential workers, and there is now no doubt the GSA was indeed essential. Logistically the world needed to function, and if we put the shipping lines to one side, the air and trucking people behaved commendably. Airlines were pretty much grounded in terms of passengers, and those flights had previously carried a huge percentage of global air cargo.

Cargo GSA companies have traditionally provided airlines with strong local market knowledge and strong personal relationships with the freight forwarders, who provided the cargo and supervision of the cargo handlers who prepared the cargo. Furthermore, protecting the airline from credit risk in global territories far beyond their headquarters.

The global air freight industry has been rapidly changing recently, due to many factors such as, a pandemic, technological progress, the digitalization of services, and an increasing pressure to meet the customers’ needs as precisely and effectively as possible. A lot is happening within the industry, but how does it look from the outside? Is it attractive to the young generation as a workplace?