Unbeatable exporters
The interest group IG Air Cargo Switzerland celebrated its 10th anniversary in the Swiss Museum of Transport on 26 August – four months later than planned. It also presented the University of St Gallen’s second airfreight logistics study – ten years after the first one.
Congratulations on your 10th anniversary, Mr Somaglia! To what extent has Switzerland’s national air cargo industry been able to make itself heard since 2010?
The air cargo segment has raised its profile amongst politicians, the media as well as in the logistics industry as a whole. Various studies, expert publications and our annual / biennial air cargo fora – staged at each of the country’s three national airports – provide us with direct contacts with all interested parties. The government’s aviation policy report 2016 also took airfreight’s concerns on board – which is down to our submissions.
How many members does your interest group have today?
The interest group with 25 founder companies has now become a community of more than 100 firms from every part of Switzerland. The group, which is headquartered in Zurich, thus covers all of the elements that make up the air cargo sector, including airlines, airports, forwarders, ground handlers, transport firms, insurance companies and airfreight consultancies, to name but a few. Our three sections in Basel, Geneva and Zurich operate independently and decide on their own activities and priorities, in accordance with their local requirements. We address the overarching issues at the national level.
What are your aspirations for your anniversary Air Cargo Day?
To get the message across that airfreight is the most important mode of transport for Switzerland’s exporters. Ten years ago airfreight’s share of the value of all goods exported stood at around 33%; in the meantime, it has risen to about 50%. Professor Wolfgang Stölzle has prepared a presentation that will offer further insights, data and facts on the industry. In the afternoon the forum will welcome eight reputed experts from the industry’s many fields to provide impulses on various air cargo subjects.
The overarching subject of course is reactions to Covid-19. What needs to be done so that airfreight emerges fortified from the ongoing downturn?
The reintroduction at the earliest possible date of regular long-haul flights to and from Asia and the USA – with the concomitant possibility of carrying co-loaded cargo in the bellies of passenger units – is an absolutely urgent necessity for the country’s air cargo industry. Goods always find ‘the best route’, also in a crisis, so if new procedures and shipment opportunities through foreign gateways become established, then it subsequently becomes very difficult to lure them back to Swiss airports. Globalisation will continue, of course – online trade’s growth rates show that there will continue to be demand for aviation services and air cargo solutions. We just have to make sure we don’t miss the boat.
What options do you expect the new airfreight logistics study to show?
The downturn triggered by government measures to contain Covid-19 made it quite clear how important air cargo is, especially for a country such as ours. The study can reinforce this awareness amongst politicians, the authorities and the media, as well as amongst customers and logistics service providers. There’s room for improvement in infrastructure projects, in efforts to digitalise communications channels between logistics service providers, and in improving efficiency. The latter could also include revising opening hours or overnight / weekend options for road feeder services.
