It may only be seven months since the last IATA World Cargo Symposium (WCS) but it has been another turbulent period for the air cargo industry.

Demand continues to trend downwards while capacity continues to grow. Meanwhile, inflationary pressures and the war in Ukraine continue to dampen the outlook.

However, there is cause for optimism as emerging air cargo data appears to show that the market may be stabilising and many companies are expecting the situation to start picking up towards the end of the second quarter.

But demand declines are not the only challenge facing the industry. Air cargo also needs to ramp up efforts to reduce its environmental impact through the use of sustainable aviation fuel, utilising more efficient aircraft, reducing its consumption of single use plastics, switching to electric vehicles on the ground and opting for renewable energy where possible.

There is also the ongoing recruitment challenge, the need to improve digital services and connectivity, and ongoing concerns around the transport of lithium batteries.

All these topics will be covered at this year’s WCS and Air Cargo News will once again be providing coverage on key discussions from the event as the event's principal media partner.

Our coverage can be accessed through the event app or on our dedicated WCS landing page on aircargonews.net, or by subscribing to our news bulletins.

Enjoy the show!