IATA cargo webinars to discuss issues from loss prevention to border management

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) will be organising Cargo Webinars from October 6-15, 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic has necessitated that these events be held online. 

The IATA cargo events will be a set of the following six webinars: 

1. Air pharma webinar on October 6 -- Andrea Gruber, Head Special Cargo, IATA will deliver the welcome address, while Glyn Hughes, Global Head Cargo, IATA will provide the industry perspective. International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) will make a presentation on the manufacturers’ expectations in light of the future transport of vaccine at the global level. This will be followed by a panel discussion on the supply chain’s readiness for the current and upcoming challenges like cargo capacity, capabilities, reduced connectivity, reliable temperature management supply chain, infrastructure, equipment and change of mindset. The panel will deliberate on the ways the aviation industry can best prepare itself to address the concerns and meet the expectations while adopting a collaborative approach.

2. Cargo claims and loss prevention webinar on October 7 -- Christian Piaget, Senior Manager Cargo Border Management and Claims, IATA will deliver the welcome address. There will be two panel discussions after that. The first will seek insight from airlines’ claims managers on the impact of Covid-19 on claims management, and the latest trends to manage and prevent claims in air cargo in general. The second panel will deliberate on the ways legal courts are dealing with a 'force majeure' convention defence for an international shipment in various jurisdictions. Sanjeewa Abeysinghe, Manager Cargo Claims Processing and Recovery, Qatar Airways; Courtney Buckwalter, Manager, Cargo Claims and Loss Prevention, United Airlines; Ricardo Bernardi, Partner, Bernardi & Schnapp – Brazil; and Rainer Amann, Partner, Urwantschky Dangel Borst – Germany will be some of the panellists.  

3. Cargo border management webinar on October 8 -- Gordon Wright, Head Cargo Border Management, IATA will present the welcome address, while Glyn Hughes, Global Head Cargo, IATA will offer the industry outlook. Then there will be two back-to-back sessions on 'Covid-19 pandemic impact on cross border trade' and 'EU/UK cross border as of December 31, 2020. The next session will seek to show how customs authorities the IATA's EPIC platform to roll out their Advance Cargo Information (ACI)/Pre-Loading ACI (PLACI) initiative and the benefits for customs, airlines and freight forwarders.  

4. Cargo operations webinar on October 13 -- The welcome address will be delivered by Brendan Sullivan, Head, e-commerce and Cargo Operations, IATA. This will be followed by a session on 'Capitalising on air cargo and managing through crisis', which will be addressed by Robert Fordree, Executive Vice President – Cargo, Menzies Aviation. The next session will discuss if artificial intelligence, robotics and automation can help the industry as the world emerges from the Covid-19 crisis. Dr Suraj Nair, Founder and CTO, SPEEDCARGO, will present his views at this session. Another session on 'Sustainable air cargo operations', a panel discussion and a question and answer session are also scheduled.   

5. Lithium battery webinar on October 14 -- Geoff Leach, Director, DG Office UK will offer the welcome address. This will be followed by a regulatory update on what’s changing in the 62nd edition of the IATA dangerous goods regulations that will affect the shipping of lithium batteries. This will be followed by two panel discussions -- the first on fire containment covers/fire containment bags, and especially their potential for protect against fire involving lithium batteries, and the second on 'Managing safety risk associated with the carriage of cargo and mail'. Amsafe Bridport; Trevor Howard, Manager, Quality and Standards, Emirates; British Airways; and UPU will be some of the panellists.  

6. E-commerce webinar on October 15 -- Brendan Sullivan, Head, e-commerce and Cargo Operations, IATA will provide the welcome address. Then there will be three back-to-back sessions on 'E-commerce growth and Covid-19 impacts', 'Supply chain shifts and air cargo gap analysis', and '5 strategies to capitalise on e-commerce growth'. These will be followed by a panel discussion and question and answer session.       

People can join the discussions using the hashtag #IATA_Cargo. More information is available on the IATA website.