IATA and FIATA join hands for a new air cargo programme
July 19, 2016: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) have signed an agreement to implement the IATA-FIATA Air Cargo Programme (IFACP) to replace the existing IATA Cargo Agency Programme.
Over the decades that the IATA Cargo Agency Programme has operated; IATA Cargo Agents (freight forwarders) have evolved from being ‘selling-agents’ for airlines to being their ‘purchasing-customers’.
With the establishment of a global IATA-FIATA Governance Board (IFGB), the industry will be better equipped to achieve key goals including: e-cargo priorities of greater efficiency and shared values, clarification of supply chain liability, improved compliance with safety and security standards through a more coordinated and concerted industry approach.
The IFGB governance structure will reduce the administrative burden in managing the Programme as it includes the involvement of forwarders as equal partners in the decision making process which now correctly reflects the Principal-to-Principal relationship existing today between Freight Forwarders and Airlines.
“This is the result of four years of hard work to modernise the relationship between freight forwarders and airlines. The IFACP also provides a framework to ensure that industry standards are relevant, pragmatic and fit for purpose. These standards cover the endorsement of freight forwarders and more broadly the safe, secure and efficient transportation of air cargo shipments,” said Aleks Popovich, IATA, senior vice president, Financial and Distribution Services.
“The Cargo Agency Programme has long needed updating. IFACP will eliminate unnecessary administrative procedures and costs as well as free up valuable resources to tackle the complex challenges that today’s global trade presents.
“These include regulatory compliance, safety and security and the introduction of new technologies. This agreement paves the way for a more successful future for the fastest and most fascinating mode of international transport,” remarked Rudi Sagel, chairman of FIATA’s Airfreight Institute (AFI).
The phased rollout of IFACP will begin in early 2017 with Canada as the pilot country. It is anticipated that full global rollout will be completed by end of 2018.
The public signature with the common endorsement of the agreement will take place at the October FIATA World Congress which will be held in Dublin, Ireland.
