TIACA’s first-ever Abu Dhabi edition of its well-established Miami-based Air Cargo Forum (ACF) took place 03-06NOV25 at the Etihad Arena on the UAE emirate’s Yas Island. TIACA reported that more than 1,000 people attended the event, which included an exhibition hall featuring 39 company booths and generous meeting area, a handful of less obvious company rooms in side-hallways, and a large plenary hall where all the panels, keynotes, and Oasis Side Chats took place. CargoForwarder Global was in attendance and here are the takeaways.
“Were you in Singapore last week? And will you be in Miami, next week?” were the main opening questions often posed when people met at the arena. And indeed, many had travelled in from the previous week’s air cargo Southeast Asia and would be heading out to the Air Cargo Americas the following week. The fact that these two events were taking place either side of the Air Cargo Forum meant that some companies had decided to reduce their presence having chosen between the many events on offer at this time of the year, given travel budgets limitations. Those companies with strong Middle East customer bases or wishing to expand there, reported having fruitful meetings, but some attendees lamented the fact that contacts from other parts of the world were missing, and the atmosphere overall seemed quieter than usual – which was a shame for an event in a destination with great promise, vision, and one that is located just 6 hours from everywhere. “If there are too many events happening, the quality of the individual events suffers,” Torsten Wefers, Vice President Sales & Marketing at Liège Airport, told CargoForwarder Global. A look at the joint Belgian air cargo community stand, however, which always appeared to be lively, showed little evidence of suffering. On the contrary – people were doing what they enjoy most: networking and getting the latest on air cargo developments and gossip.
A first for the Etihad Arena
The four days were very different in their layout. 51 people turned up for the golf tournament in 33°C, that took place on the Monday morning. A great many more attended the exclusive open-air Café del Mar beach-side networking kick-off that evening, with a generous buffet set up around a pool, an almost full moon, and a relaxed atmosphere.
Tuesday through to Thursday were held at the Etihad Arena – an establishment frequented by the likes of Rod Stewart, Backstreet Boys, Linkin Park, or the Musical ‘Beetlejuice’. TIACA’s ACF was its first attempt at hosting a conference and it may fare better with more conference-coordination through a local event manager for the next one, particularly with regard to ambient temperature and the refreshments and food on offer, for example – not to mention the arbitrary security checks and guiding people to the correct locations. The plenary and the exhibition hall were rather far apart from each other, and not all the rooms were easy to spot. Whereas Tuesday and Wednesday featured speakers and panels, and were the liveliest of the four days, Thursday was an exhibition-only day and far quieter, with around 100 people and stands being cleared around midday. One very definite highlight for many attendees, was the evening dinner and adrenaline-fuel rides at Ferrari World on the Wednesday evening – well organized with transfer buses to and from the event hotels, excellent and very varied food, and a raffle adding to the excitement of the evening.
A packed agenda
The many topics on the agenda held great promise. Unfortunately, since neither coffee nor lunch breaks were planned, this meant that the discussions scheduled around and post lunchtime saw far fewer attendees. Hopefully, next time, the agenda will be loosened up a little, and more time allocated to some of the more crucial topics such as sustainability, and a highly interesting Pharma.Aero’s Food & Farm for Health initiative, for example, that deserves far greater attention – and opening the floor up for questions – something that worked better on the Wednesday.
While an entertaining farewell to outgoing Chair, Steven Polmans, was presented to the plenary audience, the official handover from him to incoming Chair, Roos Bakker, was done at the exclusive press event on the Wednesday afternoon. Roos will be flanked by Vice Chairs, Tushar Jani and Emir Pineda, who Glyn Hughes predicted will provide: “ the perfect balance and good mix of continuity, new look, new vision, and a new approach”. Recapping the event, he highlighted that, among the 1,000 attendees were more than 65 unique airlines in attendance – a first for TIACA, “and reflects that the decision to move here was the right one – it is a way to engage with the global community who don’t get to Miami. The panels were exceptional from the level of engagement and the quality of speakers,” he said. The panel on the Middle East illustrated how the industry is moving on,and he felt that the“fast-paced 20-minute Oasis Side Chats were good.”
TIACA is growing and has plans
TIACA has much to be proud of: Membership has now surpassed the 500 mark, thanks to 60% growth since its transformation in 2019 – with every new member, it becomes more relevant for the industry. It continues to be active in Sustainability with its Roadmap and BlueSky assessments, as well as the survey and the awards – the latter will be presented at the Executive Summit in Warsaw, Poland, on 02-04JUN25. It published its first White Paper on e-commerce, earlier this year and is now working on a joint project with Pharma. Aero: Farm Fresh Economic Empowerment. Alongside an online training library for smaller businesses, and a Climate Action investment platform, TIACA represents the industry at ICAO, and similar authorities. And it has plans to nurture and encourage Startups. It recently signed an MoU with the German HOUSE 61 startup incubator, and is establishing a dedicated Startup pavilion at the ACF26, where contenders will be invited to pitch in front of investors, à la Dragon’s Den. The Miami ACF will take place 26-29OCT26. Over 200 exhibitors have already registered, TIACA says, and around 4,000 attendees are expected.
Just some of the information takeaways
Abu Dhabi is the world’s safest and fastest developing city and fastest growing airport in the region. It is being developed into a regional cargo powerhouse by 2030, with a new East Midfield Cargo Terminal that will be able to handle 1.5 million tons of cargo per year, when it opens in 2027.
Overall, the air cargo industry has seen strong growth this year – at nearly 4% demand and 6% capacity growth, driven by tariff frontloading and supply chain shifts. SE Asia and India key growth regions; capacity will tighten due to delays with new freighter deliveries. 2026 expected to be more muted but positive with continued growth in SE Asia and India. Freighter profitability stable, with capacity shortages expected especially in widebody freighters. The Middle East order book is the largest globally, signaling continued growth focus.
AI is evolving from reactive management to predictive and collaborative tools. Trust in data and AI-driven decisions essential.
E-commerce now accounts for about 20% of global air cargo volumes and is projected to double in the coming decade. Airports must actively choose to support e-commerce – without strategic intent, they will miss out on growth opportunities.
Conclusion
The idea of holding an event in Abu Dhabi is definitely the right one, given the shift in trade lanes and the growing importance of the region as a global cargo hub. The many posts on LinkedIn from attendees, confirms that they found it useful and inspiring. TIACA would be well advised to plan the next event at a quieter time part of the year, to avoid conference-fatigue.
