Tracking at the tap of a screen. Image: TAP Air Cargo
Visibility is a key customer requirement, particularly since we have all seen that is works on a personal shipment level, when buying online. In the air cargo world, there is a very mixed bag of possibilities when it comes to shipment tracking transparency – ranging from nothing to pretty good. TAP Air Cargo is now among those airlines offering a clear, digital service. It recently launched a premium cargo tracking add-on called TAP Secure Track, available everywhere across its network, and claims that “cargo transport within the TAP network is now even safer”. That security comes in part from the fact that TAP Secure Track works with single-use devices. Each customer opting for the premium add-on, receives sensors that are individually set up with a unique identifier. The customer puts these inside the shipment and the sensors then feedback the entire journey in real-time while the cargo is en route.
“TAP Secure Track uses GPS technology and advanced IoT (Internet of Things) sensors that continuously monitor the location, temperature, light exposure and physical impacts of the cargo. The data is transmitted throughout the entire journey, offering shippers a detailed and permanent view of the transport conditions at each stage. Customers can set up email notifications, which are sent whenever the sensors detect a change in a predefined limit (temperature, location, impact/shock force, or package opening/light detection),” the press release explains. Naturally, this solution offers security and instills trust since customers can check the status of their shipment at any given moment. And the real-time aspect means that, should any deviations occur in time, temperature, or integrity, action can be taken quickly to minimize the impact they may have – which also means a reduction in damages/loss payments. The airline is marketing the TAP Secure Track solution to those involved in the transport of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, electronics, high-value goods and temperature-sensitive products, “where compliance with strict standards and protection of goods are decisive factors”.
Rita Rosário Garcia, TAP Air Cargo, commented: “Our customers are looking not only for speed, but also for transparency, reliability and trust. This service allows them to manage each shipment with complete visibility and to act promptly in the event of any incident, anticipating its resolution and reducing costs associated with irregularities.”
Colin Dai, Regional Director Asia, PIK, and UK PM, Sir Keir Starmer, in Shanghai, China. Image: Meantime Communications
When you’ve spent the past couple of years intensifying Sino-Scottish business relations, ramping up your cargo operations and establishing your airport as a dedicated e-commerce gateway, attracting Royal Mail operations and a series of Chinese airlines, then it should be no great surprise to find yourself invited to represent the UK aviation sector at the recent UK state visit to China. That is precisely what happened. Not only was Glasgow Prestwick Airport (PIK) invited as a representative to attend the exclusive diplomatic reception in Beijing during the UK Prime Minister’s state visit to China, but it was in fact the only business in the aviation industry invited by His Majesty’s Ambassador to China, Peter Wilson, and His Majesty’s Consul-General, Matt Burney, when Sir Keir Starmer, UK Prime Minister, Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Business and Trade, and a hand-picked group of other UK business leaders descended upon China to discuss the future of trade relations between the two countries. Glasgow Prestwick Airport’s participation was also extended to include the China-Britain Business Council UK–China Business Forum, held as part of the UK Government’s trade delegation.
Both Air China Cargo and China Southern Airlines chose PIK as their UK base, last year, offering a total of 12 scheduled freighter flights to China (Guangzhou and Chengdu), per week. Not only were more than 250 jobs created through these business decisions, but PIK will also play an increasing role in the forecasted GBP 250 million of cross-border trade this year, through these China-UK trade lanes. While e-commerce (together with Royal Mail and EVRi) comes in, PIK handles key Scottish exports such as salmon, seafood, and whisky, going out.
Ian Forgie, Chief Executive Officer, Glasgow Prestwick Airport, showcased: “Over the past year, Prestwick has made significant progress in attracting Chinese investment and building long-term partnerships that deliver real economic value for Scotland and the UK. Our invitation to the Prime Minister’s state visit is testament to this, our forward-thinking growth strategy, and the hard work of the entire team.”
Colin Dai, Regional Director, Asia, Glasgow Prestwick Airport, added: “Being present on this state visit, allows us to share practical insight into how aviation and logistics infrastructure can support sustainable trade growth, and we welcome continued progress in UK–China trade discussions, including on tariffs.”
The TIACA Awards serve to drive aviation forward on the path to carbon neutrality – Illustration: Archive/CFG
Open for applications, that is, as the awards themselves will be decided and handed over at the Air Cargo Sustainability Awards TIACA Opens Applications for the 2026 Air Cargo Sustainability Awards ceremony which will be held at TIACA’s 2026 Executive Summit taking place in Warsaw, Poland from 01-03Jun26. CargoForwarder Global will be there to participate in the audience voting and report on the winners. Those interested should ensure that they send their entries to TIACA prior to 14MAR26. All applications will be judged by a panel of industry experts, and the shortlisted projects/companies will be invited to present in Warsaw.
CHAMP Cargosystems generously sponsors the entire award process as it has done since the beginning in Budapest, in 2019. The 2026 TIACA Air Cargo Sustainability Awards recognizes and brings awareness to extraordinary initiatives by companies, organizations or individuals, designed to advance sustainability, drive innovation, and contribute to a more efficient and environmentally responsible air cargo industry.
There are again two categories. The first, Corporate Prize, is awarded to an established corporation, international organization, or academic contributor with a long-standing presence in the air cargo community that has demonstrated sustained commitment to sustainability. The Start-Up and Small Business Prize is awarded to a short-list of three projects invited to showcase their idea, and supports them with a financial donation to develop and promote their initiative. “The Start-Up and Small Business Prize is designed to recognize and encourage young and growing companies building their presence in the air cargo industry with innovative and impactful sustainability solutions,” the release states. The winner takes home USD 10,000 and each of the two runners-up is given USD 2,500.
Roos Bakker, TIACA Chair, stated: “We are proud to open applications for the 2026 Sustainability Awards and to continue highlighting the inspiring work being done across our industry. These awards showcase practical solutions and leadership that are shaping a more sustainable future for air cargo.”
Manuel Malindo, CEO, CHAMP Cargosystems, underlined: “Driving meaningful change requires collaboration across every level of the supply chain. CHAMP is proud to sponsor these awards, which provide a crucial platform for the flexible, tech-driven solutions that will transform air cargo into a more efficient and sustainable ecosystem.”
Glyn Hughes, TIACA Director General, said: “The Sustainability Awards continue to highlight the ingenuity and commitment within our industry. We look forward to seeing the ideas and solutions that will help move air cargo toward a more sustainable and resilient future.”
GGG and WestJet Cargo continue to grow business out of UK. Image: Lemon Queen
If you’re consistently generating double-digit annual growth rates in the region of 20-30%, you’re obviously doing a good job – proven too, by the increase in market share and customer confidence. Reasons enough, therefore, WestJet Cargo and Global GSA Group to renew their collaboration in the UK, which began in 2019. Global GSA Group has and continues to deliver on its responsibilities as the airline’s GSSA, playing a key role in developing WestJet Cargo’s commercial footprint and brand across the UK: a success built on the GSSA’s knowledge of the market, its strong network of freight forwarders, and a close GSA-airline cooperation. The two companies are aligned intentions to continue growing by offering reliable capacity, digitally supported services, and quality cargo solutions for the region’s customers. A region that is particularly driven by London’s Heathrow Airport. WestJet’s daily B787 flights offer stable cargo capacity for most kinds of freight, and a network linking Canada, the UK, and continental Europe.
Wayne Davidson, Head of Sales at WestJet Cargo, commented. “Our collaboration with Global GSA Group in the UK, is built on trust, shared ambition, and mutual commitment. By working closely together, we’ve achieved sustained growth while strengthening our position across key cargo segments and reinforcing our long-term commitment to the UK and wider European market.”
Aytekin Saray, CEO of Global GSA Group, emphasized: “This partnership perfectly reflects our approach to building sustainable airline relationships. Together with WestJet Cargo, we have delivered consistent growth across general cargo and specialized products such as perishables, seafood, and live animal transport, supported by strong local expertise, close operational collaboration, and increasing digital enablement.”
Lufthansa Cargo has announced that it is further strengthening its short- and medium-haul freighter network, bringing in two new destinations. From 07FEB26, Rome-Fiumicino (FCO) will become a regular stop in its A321 freighter schedule, connecting Frankfurt, Rome, Istanbul, and Munich once a week. The move underscores the growing importance of Rome as Lufthansa Cargo’s new Southern European hub, which has already seen strong demand since DEC25. Customers will benefit from enhanced connectivity, as the integration of ITA Airways’ cargo capacity and road feeder services allows access to over 120 destinations via Rome.
From 10FEB26, Algiers (ALG) will also join the A321 freighter network, marking an expansion toward Africa. Operating every Tuesday, this new route adds to existing African and Middle Eastern destinations including Beirut, Casablanca, Cairo, Yerevan, Tel Aviv, and Tunis, bringing the total to seven. Lufthansa Cargo’s A321 freighter network now serves 22 destinations with four A321s, complemented by 18 Boeing 777 freighters for long-haul routes and lower deck capacity from partner airlines. Together with hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, Vienna, Brussels, and Rome, the network provides freight connections across around 350 destinations in 100 countries.
Ashwin Bhat, CEO of Lufthansa Cargo, enthused: “We are delighted to be able to offer our customers an expanded short and medium-haul cargo network and even greater connectivity right at the start of the year. With new destinations in its network, Lufthansa Cargo continues to pave the way for faster, reliable and more flexible logistics across the continent for our customers in line with our purpose ‘Enabling Global Business’. With five European hubs and a wide range of transport options, we can also adapt our network at short notice to respond to changes to the flow of goods or offer our customers solutions in the event of unforeseen circumstances.”
Keeping track of all the charter requests coming in and their quotes. Image: aerios
CargoTech member, Aerios, covers the digital niche of air cargo chartering, and brought the first Carrier App to market last year. It has now just launched another first: its first AI-powered and automation-driven Air Cargo Charter Quoting module for that app. A solution that solves an often chaotic problem, given that over 90% of all charter requests to airlines are made by email, and those emails often include attachments detailing packing lists. Those emails and documents need to be registered in whatever system the airline uses, in order to be able to process them and keep track. Any kind of manual intervention in a process not only slows it down, but also exposes it to the risk of human error. Processing these requests requires manual data re-entry, pricing of multiple routing permutations, and producing several quotes per request, which introduces delays and increases the risk of errors, double-entry or differing quotes. Aerios’ module solves all that by automating routing and quote generation, thus eliminating manual input errors, creating greater quoting consistency, and saving both time cost.
Automation and AI are deployed to extract and structure the required data from the incoming emails and documents. The module automatically generates routing options based on the airline’s network plus programmed positioning and tech stop requirements. It also learns from historical data and past requests and comes up with more consistent quotes, and provides excellent support also less experienced, newer employees or teams spread across different regions. “Rather than wedging AI into the system as a standalone feature, Aerios embeds it within the existing workflow charter teams use day to day. By automating steps the sales team already performs in Outlook and on the web, the system reduces input errors and speeds up response times, with a total reduction in quoting time of up to 80% – an improvement on the 66% already achieved with existing carriers,” the release states, going on to underline: “The outcome [of using the module] is improved commercial data for decision-making and greater staff capacity to focus on customer discussions and revenue-generating activities.”
Simon Watson, Founder and CEO of Aerios, said: “The introduction of the Automation & AI module for carriers solves an obvious issue the market encounters on a daily basis. It digitizes request data within the Aerios environment that will be leveraged within our upcoming modules.”
Wexco Cargo GSSA appointed as Alaska Airlines’ UK GSA. Image: Meantime Communications
Alaska Airlines (part of Alaska Air Group) announced last year that it would be launching certain European flight destinations in the Spring of 2026. Among them arethe UK’s London-Heathrow Airport, with daily flights due to commence at the end of MAY26. Wexco Cargo GSSA (part of Kales Group B.V.) will now be responsible for ensuring that the bellies of those widebody services are full of freight and that Alaska Airlines becomes a known name on the UK market for long-haul cargo operations to and via the U.S. The new connection linking London to Seattle, U.S., which the airline is building up as a cargo gateway, will offer links to more than 100 destinations across North America, Hawaii, Central America, and the Asia Pacific region. The GSSA’s responsibilities for Alaska Airlines include: targeted sales and marketing activities, providing real time capacity visibility, yield management, and live reporting metrics through its data suite. Ian Morgan, Vice President Cargo, Alaska Airlines, underlined: “We are building the foundation for future global growth, and our expansion into Europe is a critical part of that journey. The UK is a strategically important market for our cargo business, and working with Wexco gives us strong local representation as we introduce new long-haul services from London Heathrow.” Des Vertannes, Managing Director, Wexco Cargo GSSA, stated: “We are immensely proud to have been selected to represent Alaska Airlines in the UK at such a pivotal moment in the airline’s growth plan. This new partnership reflects significant confidence in our ability to dynamically develop a fresh market entry, support long-haul capacity, and deliver a premium service offering, built around performance, transparency, and strong demand.” Gemma Griffiths, Commercial Director, Wexco Cargo GSSA, added: “This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for Wexco, and we are delighted to be bringing together aligned teams and a shared focus.”
Automation features heavily in air cargo company visions when conference panels discuss the future of air cargo. Coupled with digitalization and AI, it is seen as a core enabler of future competitiveness. And yet, when does the future begin? In places like China, there are already impressive examples of fully automated operations but, on the whole, air cargo lags behind when it comes to automation maturity. And yet Fraunhofer IML (part of Germany’s Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, Europe’s largest applied research organization) and its Digital Testbed Air Cargo (DTAC), funded by the German Federal Ministry for Digitalization and Government Modernization (BMDS) to the value of €13.7 million, are testing an increasing number of cargo automation projects together with air cargo industry stakeholders.
CargoForwarder Global asked Manuel Wehner (MW), Project Manager and Research Associate at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML, to elaborate on his research topic. The result is a three-part interview series that looks at the overall autonomous robots testing situation in Part 1, details the DTAC trials in Part 2, and offers a broader discussion on robots and circular economy, cybersecurity, and the human element in Part 3.
The testing team at Munich Airport. Image: Fraunhofer IML, Vinzenz Neugebauer
CFG: What are currently the biggest challenges in getting autonomous robots to be a fixed part of air cargo processes?
MW: So far, most stakeholders conduct trials with just one or a few robots. This is understandable, given the fact that airports are highly safety and security-relevant, processes and environments are dynamic, the global regulatory framework is still being developed and revised, and that local requirements differ even between different airports and federal states within a certain country. The goal in these trials is mainly to gain experience and to prepare for the future. However, at some point, economies-of-scale need to be considered – and this is currently the challenge. Of course, there are certain examples of fleet implementations, when there is enough space (e.g. CDG), in greenfield projects (e.g. AMS), or when the local context allows for scaling up of a specific solution (e.g. HKG), but most stakeholders are still in the piloting phase.
CFG: So how does Fraunhofer IML help here?
MW: What we seek to do with our Fraunhofer IML R&D efforts is twofold: Firstly, we support visionary approaches. As we develop our own solutions from scratch, we are well-aware of technological capabilities and limitations. Secondly, as a neutral, independent, non-profit partner, we support the industry in getting rolling. This includes our know-how and robot developments in the level 3 and 4 context, but even more so we are now investigating level 5 autonomy. These levels describe the degree of automation, see, for example, SAE’s J3016TM Recommended Practice.
Fraunhofer IML complements the given stakeholder context of airports, airlines, handlers, policymakers, and others, by sharing research openly in presentations, panels and discussions as part of industry groups, trade shows, industry events and scientific papers, without promoting certain solutions. We often contribute to events hosted by IATA, ACI, TIACA, and other global stakeholders. We also recently published a detailed double-blind reviewed paper about the O³dyn tests in the Logistics Research journal, which is called ‘Air cargo logistics automation and digital airport process management: comprehensive empirical insights from Germany’ and available online (open access). These tests are part of the Digital Testbed Air Cargo (DTAC), which we will discuss more thoroughly in Part 2 of this interview series.
CFG: What do you think will be the ratio of robots to humans in five years’ time, in an air cargo warehouse?
MW: The only appropriate short answer would be: ‘it depends’. There are certainly early adopters in the market, who already investigate fleet approaches of dozens of self-driving vehicles. The vast majority of air cargo warehouse operators and other stakeholders, however, will keep testing specific solutions for the time being, preparing for bigger investment decisions in the future.
Many stakeholders in most regions still rely on manual processes. The pressure caused by the lack of skilled workers is not felt the same way in different parts of the planet yet. To give some numbers, in five years and on a global scale, I expect less than 10% of automated vehicles at airports, while on a local or national level, we might already be seeing a share of 50% and more automation solutions as early as 2030.
CFG: Will robot control centers move off airport, do you think? Will there be an increase in remote work?
MW: In the given context of cyber and data security, we do not see control centers moving off airport, at least apart from temporary trials and local initiatives. It is possible to remotely control robots at airports, however, we see more potential for on-premise solutions, where remote controllers, if required, will be located at the airport, and the data will be processed in secure local networks.
Remote work might increase, because it will take time to develop and roll out autonomous solutions. Hence, all stakeholders have the choice to invest in level 4 (automation without safety driver or human controller) or in lower-level automation (including remote control options) or in level 5 functionalities, or all of the above. More important are the vision and the business plan for the robot fleet that shall operate in 3, 5, 10 years.
Certainly, the number of human workers will decrease, allowing those remaining to specialize and focus more on tasks such as damage assessment, unusual cargo, and robot control. This can make airport jobs more attractive again and add another facet to business considerations besides the typical job-cutting argument. Automated solutions will relieve human staff from doing exhausting and repetitive tasks, while enabling them to engage in an exciting work environment as automation increases to support all types of operations. That is an exciting outlook.
CFG: What are the current limits for today’s robots?
MW: There are product specification sheets for each robot, which I will not cite here. The truth is that air cargo automation still requires lots of trial-and-error at the lowest possible risk for humans and (expensive) assets. Robots, which are advertised as capable of towing dollies, end up failing to tow even unloaded containers in real-life testing. A certain kilogram threshold might only be applicable in ideal-world scenarios, which are exceptions in daily operations.
Automated operations are compromised when there is oil spilled on the warehouse floor, when pieces are sticky with tape or unevenly loaded, or when other vehicles or aircraft do not obey speed limits. We simply do not have designated areas for robot operations at most airports yet, but we are trying to deal with difficult brownfield environments as well as possible. These are as dynamic as intralogistics can be, which is why we do not look too much at product sheets but at the real capabilities in our test environments.
We contribute to shaping policymaking and standardization efforts with our research. International legislation, handling manuals, standards, guidelines and certifications can help bridge the gap between theoretical, laboratory limits and real-life airport limits in dynamic, sometimes chaotic traffic situations.
CFG: Which airport (in the world) is currently the most advanced when it comes to robot applications?
MW: We see many early adopters and airports keep on rolling out technologies in several regions, including Americas, Europe, the Middle East, East Asia, and Asia Pacific. We have identified more than 60 different use cases for air cargo automation in 16 countries worldwide since 2017. These are publicly known as they have been featured in press releases, research or other publications. It depends on the overall strategy, i.e. is the airport aiming for level 5 operations eventually, or are level 3 to 4 operations sufficient for the current business? We currently do not see one particular airport being far ahead of the rest, but there are certainly all shades of experience levels between none to extensive.
Thank you, Manuel Wehner. We will be back next week to delve deeper into Digital Testbed Air Cargo’s specific trials with the five robots at Munich (MUC) and Stuttgart (STR) airports.
More information
About Manuel Wehner: Manuel Wehner specializes in aviation logistics and autonomous air cargo handling at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML. In the Digital Testbed Air Cargo (DTAC), led by Fraunhofer IML and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) with €13.7 million, he oversees the development and testing of autonomous robotic systems for air cargo handling at airports.
On behalf of the DTAC consortium, he accepted TIACA’s ‘Sustainability Award’ in Hong Kong in June 2025 and Stat Times’ ‘International Award for Excellence in Air Cargo’ in Nairobi in February 2025 for the tests of a heterogeneous robot fleet at the DTAC partner airports MUC and STR in 2024.
Wehner studied Management and Technology (M.Sc.) in Munich and Mexico, as well as Aviation Management (B.A.) in Frankfurt and Saudi Arabia. He is a lecturer and co-founder of the Institute for Aviation and Tourism (IAT). As a project manager for Fraport AG, he led the test operation of autonomous minibuses at Frankfurt Airport in 2017.
In November 2025, Wehner was featured in the CargoForwarder Global’s weekly ‘Spotlight on…’ series.
About the Fraunhofer IML: The Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML is part of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Europe’s largest applied research organization, which employs around 32,000 staff and has an annual research budget of 3.6 billion euros.
Fraunhofer IML is considered the top address for integrated logistics research. Interdisciplinary teams put together according to project and customer requirements create cross-industry and customer-specific solutions in the field of material flow technology, business process modeling, and in the areas of transport systems and resource logistics, among others. Other current research priorities include the sections of artificial intelligence and smart robotics, smart finance, the resilience of supply chains and the sustainable transformation of logistics. The institute is also the initiator of the non-profit Open Logistics Foundation, which promotes open-source applications in logistics, and part of the Lamarr Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, which is permanently funded as part of the German government’s AI strategy.
Fraunhofer IML’s Department for Aviation Logistics specializes in various logistics challenges related to air traffic and airport operations, including airport digitalization, airport automation, and green aviation topics.
About the Digital Testbed Air Cargo (DTAC): The Digital Testbed Air Cargo (DTAC), led by the Fraunhofer IML, is funded with 13.7 million euros by the German Federal Ministry for Digitalization and Government Modernization (BMDS). The DTAC aims to enhance the air cargo industry through digitalization and advanced technologies. It serves as a platform for testing and validating new concepts, processes, and technologies related to air cargo logistics. The testbed brings together stakeholders from various sectors, including airlines, logistics providers, and technology companies, to collaborate on solutions that improve efficiency, transparency, and quality in air cargo operations. By leveraging data standards, AI-based predictive analytics, as well as automation and robotic autonomy, the DTAC addresses key challenges in the air cargo supply chain concerning both physical and digital processes.
Besides the Fraunhofer IML as the consortium leader, the DTAC consortium consists of Cargogate Munich Airport GmbH, CHI Deutschland Cargo Handling GmbH, Flughafen Köln/Bonn GmbH, Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide, KRAVAG-Logistic Versicherungs-AG, Lufthansa Cargo AG, LUG aircargo handling GmbH, Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG, Schenker Deutschland AG, and Sovereign Speed GmbH. The grant number is ‘FKZ: 45KI14A011’.
It’s a well-known saying that those who are declared dead live longer. This applies to the Venezuelan airline, Transcarga International Airways (TIA), which is about to be revived. After it bit the dust in OCT23, it recently regained its AOC and is preparing to resume flights once more.
The DC-10-30F can accommodate 79 tons of cargo per flight. Launch customer was FedEx in 1984 – archive
These will be carried out with two McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 freighters, which TIA intends to operate on long-haul transcontinental routes. The relaunch is aimed at strengthening the country’s logistics supply chains, with special emphasis on supporting the oil industry and strategic industrial sectors by transporting heavy machinery and critical supplies.
No operational specifics announced yet The move comes after the fall of the Maduro regime and the end of the U.S. blockade on air traffic to and from Venezuela. This has been indirectly confirmed by executives of Transcarga International Airways, pointing out that the recent “geopolitical changes in the region allow TIA to fully reintegrate into the logistics market.” The routing and the dates of entry into service of the two McDonnell Douglas / DC-10-30 aircraft will be announced following the completion of the required technical inspections.
With its two freighters, the company seeks to position itself in the reconfiguration of Venezuela’s supply chains, focusing on logistical support for the local energy industry. This includes the air transport of heavy machinery, appliances and industrial supplies critical to the revitalization of the country’s run-down oil sector. The investment in the DC-10-30s is based on vital strategic considerations. Crude oil and the technical and infrastructural set-up necessary for its extraction and processing are the economic lifeline of this highly indebted country, which has been driven into political and economic ruin by the authoritarian presidential regimes of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro.
No information available on the airline’s finances Prior to its grounding in the fall of 2023, the carrier was the only freight airline offering non-stop cargo services between the United States and Venezuela – at the time with Airbus A300 equipment.
Transcarga’s beginnings date back to its maiden flight in 1998. It was founded by Julio Márquez Biaggi, a businessman and former captain of Viasa/KLM, as Transcarga Intl. Airways, C.A. In the years that followed, the company focused on charter flights between Venezuela and the U.S. before scheduled flights supplemented its capacity offering.
TIA management has not provided any information on the financing of the re-launch. The staffing situation is also unclear at present, as is who will head the airline.
The fact that it is reactivating old DC-10 aircraft instead of leasing more modern and less fuel-thirsty freighters, does not indicate that the carrier’s coffers are full.
Aviation in Africa is on the rise, at least in some of the continent’s 54 countries. However, the willingness of some governments to release withheld funds by returning them to their proprietors, passenger and cargo airlines, is in decline. If they do not change this practice, they risk being isolated from intercontinental air traffic. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has now issued a warning about this problem and its possible consequences. It remains to be seen whether those affected will heed this alert and change their policy.
A significant number of countries are resisting the repatriation of funds belonging to foreign airlines – photo: archive CFG
Algeria tops the list of countries that are permanently blocking airline funds. The country owes USD 307 million to foreign passenger and air cargo companies operating there. These are funds from local ticket sales or booked and paid air cargo shipments, but to which the airlines concerned have no access due to a repatriation blockade proclaimed by the aviation authority of the country. Blocked funds are revenues earned by international airlines in local currencies that cannot be converted and repatriated in U.S. dollars due to government-imposed restrictions or foreign exchange shortages. But how does this happen and what measures are needed to release blocked funds?
Complex scheme Internationally operating airlines have a unique business structure. They earn revenue in many countries, but most of their major costs are incurred at their home airports – maintenance, manpower costs, fuel, expenditures for ground equipment or office buildings.
This very complex scheme can only function when airlines are able to repatriate the funds earned from sales outside their home turf. It ensures that carriers can pay their bills and keep operations running permanently, safely and reliably. Binding agreements between airlines and national aviation authorities or government bodies are supposed to guarantee this. However, as the table shows, this is often not the case. As of OCT25, airlines had a staggering USD 1.2 billion in blocked funds globally, claims IATA. Timely repatriation in U.S. dollars is essential for airlines to meet dollar-denominated expenses like leasing, maintenance, fuel, and salaries.
Blocked funds block airline development Should funds remain trapped, airlines are exposed to currency depreciation. If a local currency loses 20% of its value during the delay, the airline suffers a direct financial loss when converting it back to dollars. At the same time, carriers often borrow to cover operational expenses while waiting for blocked funds to be released, and rising interest rates can add hundreds of thousands in unplanned costs. Or there could be opportunity cost: capital tied up in blocked funds cannot be invested in fleet upgrades, route expansion, or sustainability initiatives, torpedoing growth and reducing competitiveness.
Consequently, airlines must factor this risk into their network and financial planning, particularly if serving financially strapped African countries. Trapped funds often lead to reduced flight frequencies, higher fares, or even the suspension of routes altogether. In effect, unlawfully withheld proceeds make a country more expensive and less attractive to foreign carriers.
Loss of trust Thomas Reynaert, IATA Senior Vice President, External Affairs, warns of another consequence of this obstructionist attitude: loss of trust. “The longer funds remain trapped, the greater the damage to confidence. International airlines and investors see blocked funds as a warning sign of financial instability. Currency controls, while sometimes necessary during crises, can tarnish a country’s reputation and strain relationships with global institutions, making recovery harder and slower.”
The problem is serious, but there is light at the end of the tunnel, says IATA official Reynaert. “With political will, open dialogue, and a commitment to transparency, governments can resolve blocked fund challenges in ways that support economic and aviation growth.”
Nigeria is an encouraging example Prioritizing aviation in foreign exchange allocation is the first step toward clearing blocked funds. From there, authorities can streamline administrative processes and eliminate unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles that slow repatriation. Experience shows that, with the right approach, blocked funds can be released without destabilizing local economies.
Nigeria offers a clear example: through constructive engagement and phased repatriation, the backlog was successfully cleared. At one stage, the government withheld funds amounting to staggering USD 850 million. However, through constructive dialogues and phased payback, the backlog was successfully cleared.
IATA’s list of the largest 10 debtors*** ***The XAF Zone includes Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon.
