What did 2024 bring? What are the challenges for 2025? How to cope with perpetual disruption? These were the top themes discussed at the Executive Panel ‘The Big Picture’. It was one of a dozen exciting topics listed on the agenda of the World Cargo Summit in Ostend, Belgium, orchestrated by Swedish event organizer, EuroAvia International, last week.

Streamlined into questions by TIACA Director-General, Glyn Hughes as moderator, the above-mentioned issues were discussed by Eduardo Arenas, Head of Strategy & Transformation of Avianca Cargo, Winston Kwong, CEO HACTL, and Dr Stéphane Graber, Director-General of FIATA.
The issue of disruptions was the first to hit the floor as President Trump’s threat to tax imports from Colombia by 25%, led to a wave of panic among the flower producers in the period leading up to Valentine.
Staying on the topic of Latin-America, Dr Graber reminded the audience of the fact that the organization’s World Congress annual meeting last year was held in Panama, another of the new U.S. president’s targets.
That Panama had been eager to accept Chinese investments was not abnormal given that the U.S. was neglecting to invest in Panama. “So, no wonder that the Chinese took advantage of the gap and stepped in,” reasoned FIATA Chief Graber. “Whenever something happens in the maritime industry, it has a direct impact on aviation,” he concluded.
E-commerce is raging
Avianca Cargo’s Eduardo Arenas acknowledged the uneven flows between the U.S. and Latin America, noting that up to now “there was more demand for goods traveling southbound to destinations in Latin America.” However, now there is a lot of uncertainty on what is going to happen under the new president.
That e-commerce is still raging through the industry was demonstrated by Winston Kwong, who said that 60% of the 168 freighters handled daily by HACTL in Hong Kong, are filled with e-commerce shipments. In absolute terms, that is 101 cargo aircraft.
Regarding 2025, he stated: “We are currently observing some growth, despite the potential imposition of tariffs. It will be a year of uncertainty. But each year we have seen the ability to maneuver and overcome the obstacles.”
Bring in the forwarder
Within this context of uncertainty and challenges, the role of the freight forwarder is not to be underestimated. “The challenge today, is to navigate in a changing world. Preparedness is the key to success,” said Dr Graber.
He described the four levels the forwarders should work with: develop a global network, start new corridors, add optionality, and provide resilience to absorb shock by increasing visibility and prediction. Digitization remains an ongoing challenge in freight forwarding. The industry needs a higher technological profile, the FIATA official urged.
In NOV24, Avianca Cargo overhauled its brand, among other things, by the introduction of new A330 freighter aircraft. “We work on three levels: booking, tracking, and invoicing; how we use these tools and how we relate with them to the other actors in the chain,” said Mr. Arenas. “The challenge is keeping up with varying standards to secure permanent connectivity.”
Data sharing
Stricter demands on shipment data are no small venture for HACTL, especially in e-commerce, in which most items are of low value. Wilson Kwong explained: “There are a lot of new requirements we have to address, and I expect some volatility. However, since the shipments are initiated by the buyer and processed through the seller, we possess all the necessary data.”
Touching the ongoing topic of digitalization, Graber referred to the Model Bilateral Agreement for Multiple Filing that his organization had launched in APR24. “Our aim is to move the industry further into digitization, making business processes more transparent and error-free. We share only indispensable data, and the ownership always remains with the forwarder. What FIATA guarantees is compliance. However, the entire process can only succeed if everyone involved in the value chain is willing to interconnect with the other parties involved in the supply chains.”
The robots are coming
Wilson Kwong agreed that robotics is the next big thing the industry is going to embrace. As a ground handler, he experiences an increasing shortage of labor, day in, day out. Managing this bottleneck and ensuring the constant flow of goods is a massive challenge. It will not work without new technical solutions that result in a symbiosis between man and machine. The answer is to use industrial robots that perform simple and repetitive tasks and thus relieve the burden on staff in warehouses and on airport aprons. This is a global problem and not limited to Hong Kong and China but similarly affects Europe and North America. So, there is no alternative to using robots to do the job and keep cargo flying safely and on time.