Freight forwarders will have a stronger voice in the development of Cargo Agency Conference (CAC) resolutions for airfreight.
Airline body IATA is the secretariate for the CAC, which deals with relationships between airlines and sales intermediaries involved with the selling and processing of international air cargo.
A newly adopted resolution of the CAC will require consultation with Regional Joint Councils before any future resolutions (or amendments to resolutions) are proposed to and considered by the CAC.
The CAC is composed only of airlines. The Regional Joint Councils are composed of local freight forwarder associations affiliated with the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA), as well as individual freight forwarders and airlines.
IATA said in a statement that obtaining Regional Joint Council views in advance of adopting resolutions will strengthen the Air Cargo Program by ensuring the efficient global implementation of resolutions.
Muhammad Albakri, IATA’s Senior Vice President for Customer, Financial and Digital Services, said: “This is a major improvement for all concerned. The Air Cargo Program works to improve the safety, security, and efficiency of cargo distribution.
“Considering the views of all interested parties at the beginning of the decision-making process is a win-win. The freight forwarders and their associations will have a stronger voice to influence the process.
“The CAC will be able to make better decisions with broader input to the decision-making process. And once decisions are made, they can be implemented universally with stronger support from all parties.”
IATA’s statement added: “The new streamlined consultation process will help to run the Air Cargo Program more efficiently, reduce costs, and improve and enhance cargo distribution performance throughout the industry. This is particularly crucial during these times of a global pandemic and economic crisis.”
The CAC meets once a year usually during March, in conjunction with the World Cargo Symposium.
There are two types of members: voting members and non-voting members. Each active member of IATA which operates a schedule commercial international air transport service for the carriage of cargo is a voting member of the CAC. An associate member of IATA may elect to become a non-voting member of CAC.
The current CAC Chairman is Roy Hurley.
