In corporation with Messe München, The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) held the Air Cargo Forum and transport logistic Americas in Miami, United States from 8 to 10 November 2022. The event was attended by over 5,900 attendees and 220 exhibitors from the air cargo and logistics industry to network and explore new business opportunities.
Changi Airport Group (CAG), together with our partners Alliance 21, dnata and Singapore Airlines Cargo, exhibited at the forum, to showcase our connectivity and capabilities as an air cargo hub. Over the three-day exhibition, trade visitors were served local snacks from Bengawan Solo and Irvin’s salted egg chips at our Peranakan-inspired Changi Air Cargo Hub pavilion. This provided the opportunity for CAG and our co-exhibitors to engage with business partners and prospective clients at the booth throughout the day.
Mr Shobraj C. Dayaram, Cargo Vice President Americas of Singapore Airlines Cargo, shared: “We would like to thank Changi Airport Group for providing Singapore Airlines the opportunity to participate as a co-exhibitor at Air Cargo Forum Miami. It is an honour for us to promote Singapore as Asia’s Key Logistics Hub together with Changi Airport Group.”
Mr Charles Galloway, CEO for Asia Pacific at dnata, commented: “The opportunity to collaborate with CAG and the other valued stakeholders through our attendance as a Singapore airport community was invaluable. We were able to jointly promote Changi Airport’s infrastructure, innovation and processes as a leading air cargo hub that also efficiently supports the intermodal logistics chains.”
Mr Benjamin Ong, CEO of Alliance 21 Group, added: “The event was a very fruitful one in Miami. I am glad to have had the opportunity to meet many of my friends and partners I have not
met for a while. I am also happy to have been able to network with the wider air cargo community, and this has given me some business opportunities that I will actively follow up on. Thank you once again to Changi Airport Group for giving us the opportunity to showcase Alliance 21 Group, and to exhibit at the Air Cargo Forum in Miami.”
CAG also spoke at a panel discussion titled “Excellence in Pharma Logistics” during the event, which focused on how the next generation of technologies will contribute to a sustainable pharma logistics eco-system.
CAG is heartened by the positive feedback received from our business partners and co-exhibitors. We welcome air cargo partners to join us as co-exhibitors at the upcoming Air Cargo Europe (ACE) 2023 held in Munich, Germany from 9 to 12 May 2023.
Changi Airport Group (CAG) and Singapore Airlines Cargo (SIA) co-exhibited in the 15th edition of Asia Fruit Logistica exhibition held in Bangkok, from 2nd to 4th November 2022. The physical event attracted close to 10,000 visitors and 420 exhibitors from the global fresh fruits and vegetables companies, such as growers, importers, exporters, buyers, distributors and logistics companies.
SIA and CAG jointly showcased Changi Air Cargo Hub’s cold chain capabilities in handling temperature-sensitive perishable shipments. The co-branded booth attracted new and existing business partners to get a better understanding of Changi’s cargo connectivity as well as the capabilities of SIA’s THRUFRESH corridor.
Statistics on fresh fruits and vegetables of top Asian markets
In September 2022, SATS and CEVA Logistics attained the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Center of Excellence for Independent Validators Lithium Batteries (CEIV Li-Batt) certification.
IATA CEIV Li-Batt certification is driven by the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR) and IATA Lithium Battery Shipping Regulations (LBSR) and designed to improve the level of competency as well as quality management of certified companies in the handling and carriage of lithium batteries.
Bob Chi, Chief Executive Officer of Gateway Services, SATS, said in a media release “As lithium batteries grow to be the preferred energy source for consumer electronics and mobility products, we believe this certification will set a new international benchmark for
safe aviation travel and give customers the added confidence that we handle shipments of dangerous goods with the highest level of care and diligence.”
Steven Lee, Air Product Development Head APAC, CEVA Logistics, said “We at CEVA Logistics always aim to be the leader at the forefront of the logistics industry. With this renowned certification, we have achieved one of our objectives and will continue to build upon this achievement for the future.”
We would like to congratulate SATS and CEVA Logistics for being one of the first organisations globally to attain this certification, as it demonstrates high standards of compliance with the IATA DGR and LBSR regulations.
Changi Airport’s Annual Airport Celebration (AAC) 2022 was held as a physical event after a hiatus of more than two years. The airport community gathered to honour the exemplary acts of service and paid tribute to the resilience demonstrated by the ONE Changi partners during the pandemic.
The event was graced by Mr S. Iswaran, Minister of Transport and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations. Minister Iswaran presented the awards to the recipients, with a total of seven awards across four categories including ‘All-Star Service Team of the Year’, ‘Outstanding Service Staff of the Year’, ‘Outstanding Service Team of the Year’ and ‘Service Partner of the Year’. As air travel continues to recover, Changi Airport's continuous pursuit of service excellence drives the airport community to offer the best Changi Experience as the airport welcomes more passengers.
Summing up the AAC 2022 event, Mr Lee Seow Hiang, CEO of Changi Airport Group (CAG) expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the ONE Changi partners who contributed generously to Changi Airport amid the challenges and helped Changi Airport hold up and press on under the blow of the pandemic, paving the way for the air hub’s recovery.
Our heartfelt congratulations to all the awardees!
Changi Airport was presented with the “Global Cargo Airport of the Year” award at this year’s Payload Asia Awards event. This accolade is made possible through the continued support of our air cargo partners and strong vote of confidence from the industry.
In its 9th edition, the Payload Asia Awards took place on 28 October in Singapore, recognising leaders and forward thinkers of the air cargo and supply chain industry.
We would also like to congratulate the following partners who won awards in the following categories:
1. Can you briefly introduce yourself and your role at The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA)? What is TIACA’s air cargo outlook for the Asia Pacific region, especially for Southeast Asia?
I have had the pleasure of being the Director General of TIACA since Feb 2021. I joined TIACA after 30 years working for IATA, the last 6 years of which I was the IATA Global Head of Cargo. TIACA is a unique global trade association in that it represents all sectors of the industry. We have members from airlines, airports, handling companies, freight forwarders, manufacturers, General Sales & Service Agents, technology companies, shippers and other associations.
For the global air cargo market outlook, we expect continued challenges for the remainder of 2022 and most of next year. The continued high level of inflation, coupled with central bank interest rate increases and growing concern within the jobs market, are causing consumers to become more cautious and defensive. World Trade Organisation forecasts that international trade will only grow by approximately 1% in 2023. The IMF and OECD are both forecasting a reduction in the growth of global GDP compared with 2022. The prospect for Southeast Asia is that the region would benefit from a reopening of manufacturing and production which has been subdued for much of the past two years following stringent and long-standing Covid measures. China, Japan and Korea are forecasted to have GDP growth similar or slightly higher than this year, as Asia re-establishes itself as the global centre of economic production.
2. The recently launched TIACA BlueSky program has received overwhelming response from airlines, airports, freight forwarders and ground handlers. What is your vision for the BlueSky Program, and in your view, how can air cargo stakeholders prioritise sustainability efforts in their air cargo business and processes?
Sustainability is crucial for our industry – whether for our customers, partners, employees, society, regulators, financiers, and for the planet. Environmental concerns aside, it is also about how we interact with one another. It is about creating a diverse and inclusive workforce, and protecting the environment whilst supporting the growth of the global economy. Each business will need to establish their own sustainable path based on their specific needs, and demonstrate overall improvements.
Sustainability is a journey and that is where the TIACA BlueSky Programme comes in. The BlueSky Programme is an independent assessment of an organisation’s sustainability programme, based on a set of key criteria. Each company then gets a personalised dashboard which highlights where they are doing well, compared to industry benchmarked best practices, and the areas where they need to put in more effort. By providing such support to individual companies, it would aggregate to support for the air cargo industry at large. The programme is open to non-TIACA members as well and we invite all companies to reach out to us for more information. More details are on https://tiaca.org/bluesky-program/
3. Cross-border e-commerce was another key highlight discussed at this year’s World Cargo Symposium. How can our industry stakeholders transform ourselves to capitalize on the e-commerce opportunities and elevate customer experience?
eCommerce has grown at solid double digits for the past few years. In 2020, eMarketer estimated that worldwide retail ecommerce sales posted a 27.6% growth rate. E-commerce’s growth accelerated significantly during Covid as people were forced to alter social and work habits as distancing and lockdowns became prevalent. The challenge for e-commerce is to maintain that momentum when faced with some new realities and demands.
As more organisations and employees adopt work from home practices, we are starting to see a return to “social retail” as society seeks to reconnect but conversely, e-commerce is proving a hugely valuable tool for cost conscious consumers as they can access a greater array of options. On the operational front, air cargo needs to enhance supply chain visibility to ensure transparency, and improve digital solutions in line with user expectations. Overall, we continue to see growth in e-commerce shipments.
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