Swiss air cargo interest group formed
A group has been formed to represent the interests and concerns of the Swiss air cargo industry.
IG Air Cargo Switzerland said its main purpose is to provide a platform to discuss and harmonize the interests of cargo airlines, forwarders, airports, integrators, truckers, handling agents, general sales agents, shippers and other members of the air freight community. This in turn should give the air cargo industry a voice in helping to shape the development of infrastructure and regulations in Switzerland with the relevant authorities, including airports and customs operators, it said.
'The future growth of air freight in Switzerland is highly dependent on the enlargement and modernization of ground infrastructure, which, unfortunately, have been neglected more than once in the past,' said Peter Somaglia, managing director of Zurich-based ground handling company Cargologic, who was appointed president of the new group. 'To ensure such preparedness, IG Air Cargo Switzerland urges the airports and authorities concerned to allocate sufficient space and resources to modernizing existing facilities and building additional warehouses to cater for the further growth expected.'
Air cargo plays an important role in the Swiss economy. It generates more than 25,000 jobs and, while less than 3 percent of all goods leaving Switzerland are transported by air, these shipments account for more than 35 percent of the total value of all exported goods.
'We have made great progress over the past two years in identifying the common needs of all the stakeholders in the Swiss air cargo industry and presenting our relevance and requirements to the government in Bern,' said Oliver Evans, chief cargo officer for Swiss International Air Lines. 'But given the urgency and the complexity of the issues we are facing in a country that is highly dependent upon air freight, the lack of an adequate platform for the regular discussion, shaping and monitoring of a national air cargo agenda has been a genuine concern.
'I see a clear parallel between the foundation of IG Air Cargo in Switzerland and the recent establishment of the Global Air Cargo Advisory Group (GACAG), which also brings together the interests of shippers, forwarders, airlines and other stakeholders, this time on a global scale,' Evans added.