At the recent IATA World Cargo Symposium in Peru, industry experts emphasized the need for greater integration of air cargo governance within the broader aviation policy framework. Leonardo Boszczowski, ICAO regional officer, highlighted that air cargo development often occurs in parallel with, and sometimes in isolation from, overall aviation governance.
He pointed out that airports frequently overlook air cargo during master planning, infrastructure development, and operational planning. For example, security managers often focus solely on passenger-facing issues such as access control and baggage security, neglecting the cargo side of the operation. This disjointed approach can hinder effective oversight and coordination.
According to Boszczowski, the lack of performance metrics for air cargo, in comparison to passenger services, illustrates its marginalization. Passenger operations are usually evaluated based on queue times and check-in efficiency, whereas air cargo terminals lack comparable performance standards, resulting in suboptimal system performance.
He called for increased involvement of air cargo stakeholders in national air transport and airport facilitation committees. Such engagement is vital to foster better interagency coordination and to address operational bottlenecks. Boszczowski underlined that integrating cargo policies into operational governance and aligning them with airport systems would improve competitiveness and efficiency throughout the sector. Stakeholders working collaboratively can develop measurable outcomes that enhance the system's overall performance and resilience.
