Air cargo association Tiaca saw both its membership numbers and revenues rise last year.
During a webinar to update on the latest developments at the association, director general Glyn Hughes said Tiaca had welcomed a total of 33 new members in 2024, bringing its total membership numbers to 480 companies and organisations.
Six of the new members were registered as trustees, 16 were corporate members, six joined as small businesses and five as start ups.
New trustee members included Rainbow Aviation, King Salman International Airport, SmartKargo, Emirates SkyCargo, Delta Cargo and Conveyor Logistics.
Hughes added that total revenues at the organisation in 2024 were up 19% year on year as its biennial Air Cargo Forum event took place in November – Tiaca has since announced that from 2025 the event will become an annual gathering.
However, member revenues in 2024 were down on 2023 levels. Hughes said this was down to the fact that in 2023 the organisation welcomed 13 new trustees compared with six last year.
He explained that trustee members pay a one-off joining fee and the following year benefit a lower annual fee.
Last year, membership revenues accounted for 58% of the associations’ overall income, while events accounted for 37% and programmes 5%.
Elsewhere, Tiaca last year undertook a strategic review on behalf of the board to make sure it remains consistent with the needs of the industry.
The review addressed the overall association, its organisation, membership, events, services and future vision.
Tiaca also looked at its governance, how it works with the board and whether the board has the right companies and representation on a global level.
The association also examined roles and responsibilities and decided on additional resource to help increase deliverables for members.
Actions that came out of the review included a plan to actively target underrepresented membership categories – such as freight forwarders - and establish a ‘young person task force’ to advise the board.
Hughes added that the association would soon publish its latest sustainability survey results, which showed that companies felt the pressure to be sustainable has eased over the past 12 months.
However, it also shows that sustainability remains important for both employees and customers.
Tiaca has also launched a new partnership with the pharma.aero association, along with the Cool Chain Association and Humanitarian Logistics Association, to examine the value of air cargo in terms of pharma and perishables transport.
The project covers use cases, data, economic and social impact, and value to industry and community.
Deliverable output from the partnership will be to create a formalised campaign and training programmes.
Elsewhere, Tiaca is partnering with the Global Aviation & Aerospace Skill Taskforce on future talent recruitment as a steering group member.
It is also taking part in Logistics UK’s Generation Logistics campaign that aims to encourage the next generation to join the sector.
Hughes said that Tiaca has also set up an e-commerce task force to identify key trends, issues and challenges, and develop guidelines and solutions and make recommendations to industry standard setting bodies.
Meanwhile, Tiaca said that nominations for its annual Hall of Fame award are now open and will be accepted until 31 March.
