Volatility, agility, and adaptability were among the major themes and buzzwords of this year’s Air Cargo Handling & Logistics (ACHL) Conference in Copenhagen, the 12th such annual event, which was a centrepiece of the Aviation Connect 2025 event at the Clarion Hotel at Copenhagen Airport.
Conference chairman Henrik Ambak led participants through two days of discussions in what has been another turbulent year for the international air cargo sector.
Key themes included the fast-changing demands from cross-border e-commerce, the potential of artificial intelligence, advances in technology and digitalisation, skills and recruitment challenges, and the opportunities for further progress in quality, efficiency, standardisation, and sustainability initiatives.
Panel discussions and presentations included a keynote session on The Future of Air Cargo in E-Commerce; Driving Digital Transformation; AI in Air Cargo; Recent EASA Regulation Changes; Standardisation; Heathrow’s Cargo Strategy; The Cargo Handling Landscape; and Building the Future of Cargo Airports.
The following short report attempts to capture some of the highlights of three of the panel discussions.
Discussion 1: The Cargo Handling Landscape
A lively panel discussion on The Cargo Handling Landscape examined the services currently offered to airline cargo customers by global cargo handling giants versus localS independents, challenging each to outline the extent to which they have the right solutions for today’s cargo carriers.
Robert Fordree, SVP of cargo operations worldwide for Emirates SkyCargo, noted: “We have a mix of global handlers and independent handlers, and in some cases, regional handlers. One size doesn’t necessarily fit all; but it is our preference to work with a smaller number of handlers that really understand our product handling capability and requirements. The larger global handlers will, obviously, try to leverage their size with us. We will try to do the same, and in many cases that works.
“In some cases, it doesn’t, and that’s why we’ll always need a different solution, through an independent party as well. But my belief is that it will become harder and harder for the independent handlers to compete with the global handlers – if the global handlers get things done in a way that we want them to.”
Patrik Tschirsch, MD and CEO of European independent cargo handler LUG, observed that the giants “are becoming more and more gigantic. And I think this is where the threat lies as well, for customers, because in certain areas and stations of a certain size it will be tough to get what they’re looking for from the giants”. He urged carriers to “be more picky, and clear what your expectations are; live up to that; and don’t rule anybody out”.
Advantages of independents
Kai Domscheidt, CEO of independent cargo handler CHI Group, emphasised the value of local ownership, agility, and rapid decision-making, noting that independents thrive through focus, responsiveness, and on-the-ground leadership – “making decisions in real time, not waiting for approval from headquarters 5,000 kilometres away in Dubai, Zurich or Singapore”, or “hiding behind corporate hierarchy”. He argued: “In this industry, agility is the new scale, and that is where CHI thrives.”
Dirk Goovaerts, global cargo chair of Swissport, presented the counterpoint, stating that global players are increasingly able to replicate the benefits of local decision-making. He pointed to the expanding footprint of global handling networks, their ability to ensure accountability, and the efficiency gained through standardised systems – particularly in digitalisation and process management. He noted that major handlers now deploy regionally empowered teams that make local decisions while leveraging global resources, arguing that this model provides consistency as well as speed.
Vishal Bhatnagar, MD for operations at carrier Delta Cargo, agreed that, at least in markets such as the US, the corporate giants, effectively, “also operate as an independent operator”, making “very local leadership decisions”.
Reliability and safety prioritised
Representatives from both Delta Cargo and Cargolux identified reliability and safety as the overriding criterion when selecting handling partners. For Delta, innovation followed closely behind – with cost remaining important but secondary to dependable performance and innovation. Bhatnagar explained: “If we, together, innovate on different things, we will be able to take out cost. So, reliability; consistency of service; then innovation.
“Of course, there is a room for both corporate giants and independent operators,” added Bhatnagar.
“Agility is very important, and how quickly our partner reacts to our needs, to our customers’ needs; and trust: we want consistent service, constant reliability, following our safety guidelines, making sure that whatever is flying on our aircraft is safe, is secure.”
Airline selection criteria
Fordree explained that using a global provider simplifies contracting and quality management, favouring scale in some scenarios. Other factors – such as the fit of schedules, warehouse capacity, and ability to meet specific service-level agreements – also play a role, with independents sometimes offering compelling alternatives when they can compete closely on quality and cost.
Domscheidt and other panellists argued that in some crisis situations or when exceptions arise, independent handlers demonstrate superior responsiveness. They attributed this to flatter hierarchies and the empowerment of local staff, as well as the ability to design customised operating procedures for airlines.
But Fordree highlighted that larger firms can offer risk mitigation through resources that can be quickly deployed to resolve problems across multiple locations.
Data and Ai
The panel moved on to discuss the impact of digitalisation and Ai. Several panellists agreed that corporate giants generally have greater resources to invest in technology and can implement standardised solutions more quickly across extensive networks. But both Bhatnagar and Fordree agreed that this did not necessarily deliver better results.
Bhatnagar said independents “on a station level, are very quick to react. If it is not via technology, then there are processes put in, which have then taken care (of the issue). The end result for an airline remains the same, whether from technology or processes.”
Fordree observed that “the global handlers have the ability to implement technology solutions across multiple locations; that has a very positive impact on our overall network. But sometimes it takes quite some time for that approval to be implemented. We find the independent providers, in many cases, more responsive and quicker to react.”
Speed of change
He continued: “We were recently looking at changing the way that we do weight verification for trim purposes. And the first handler to adopt the new system that we wanted was an independent provider who handles us in one location, because they had their own in-house designed warehouse management system. They changed it the next day, and it was implemented the next day, whereas it has taken us months with other providers, both global and independent. So, sometimes it’s positive, sometimes it’s negative; it kind of balances out over time.”
On the question of Ai, contributors highlighted the need for robust data quality as a precondition for successful AI deployments.
Johannes Bruijs, senior VP for global logistics at Cargolux, noted that when Cargolux last year changed its cargo management system, more than half of the house air waybills had the wrong data. He said automation and Ai can potentially achieve a lot, but they are only as effective as the underlying accuracy of the data they process. “So, let’s focus on how to improve data quality.”
Bhatnagar agreed, adding: “We don’t have good data in our industry. So, Ai is probably not going to be as successful as we want in our business right now. Once we get to the right data, data structures, and data quality, AI could be useful.”
Several panellists agreed that the deployment of advanced technology must be balanced with human oversight and critical thinking. But Bhatnagar said Delta’s new cargo management system, implemented this year, has been designed in such a way “that people don’t have to think, or should not take their own decisions and circumvent steps”.
Future workforce challenge
Addressing the future workforce challenge, the panel agreed that automation would reduce the need for administrative roles, shifting the emphasis to operators with technical, problem-solving, and data skills. Nevertheless, some panellists also stressed the continued importance of passion, work ethic, and adaptability among employees.
Several noted the challenge of attracting new generations into the sector, emphasising the need for air cargo to accelerate innovation and technology adoption in order to compete for talent.
Linking people issues with the original question of comparing global giants with independents, Fordree notes: “Roughly 50% of our business is across four global handlers, and I see the likelihood of that increasing.
“But what enables us to get the best service? It’s the best people.” And where some of the independent handlers bring “a sort of family approach, the staff turnover is less, therefore the consistency is better, the responsiveness from those teams is better. So, I think there will always be a place for independents. But I do see the landscape for the global handlers getting bigger.”
Fast versus slow
For Domscheidt, “success won’t belong to the biggest, but to the ones who are most adaptable. It’s not the big one who eats the small; it’s the fast one that eats the slow. The giants can be big and fast, and those will be the really successful ones. But the giants who are slow, I think they will be replaced. So, speed is going to be of essence.”
Goovaerts concludes: “The best independent handlers will become bigger, so they might in 10 years also be giants. And I think the giants who are not performing will not remain giants. So, I think we all still have to be on our toes.”
Discussion 2: Driving Digital Transformation
Continuing the theme of technology adoption, a panel discussion on ‘Driving Digital Transformation’ brought together industry leaders to explore the opportunities, challenges, and future trajectory of digitalisation in the air cargo sector.
Discussion moderator Kendy Choi, independent consultant at NEM+ and former airline cargo and e-commerce logistics executive, opened the conversation by highlighting persistent inefficiencies in the air cargo industry, specifically how normalisation of day-to-day firefighting and siloed optimisation obscure underlying systemic challenges. She challenged the panellists to reflect on why, despite years of technological progress, key performance indicators remain static and redundancies persist, and progress remains slow towards real-time data sharing and digitally optimised operations.
Amar More, CEO of Kale Logistics Solutions, pinpointed “mindset” as the sector’s greatest barrier. While technology for digital data exchange – such as EDI platforms, APIs, and collaborative tools – has matured, genuine progress hinges on people’s willingness to embrace new processes.
He said resistance to change, and lack of real collaboration outweigh pure technical hurdles. He said technological solutions exist but depend on industry-wide acceptance, arguing that change management is fundamentally about understanding mutual benefits – such as reducing wait times for trucks at airports by sharing information in advance, leading to tangible operational and environmental efficiencies.
Janet Wallace, MD for cargo operations and transformation at Air Canada, observed that despite initiatives to digitalise warehouse operations and introduce artificial intelligence at process front-ends, she still observed a surprising volume of paperwork still prevalent globally in cargo warehouses – from teletype to fax machines.
Although her team has implemented smart solutions like AI-driven acceptance processes and entered into agreements with technology partners to improve data visibility, she emphasised that governance – deciding who owns and can share what data once processes are digitalised – presents a formidable obstacle. She noted that digital transformation is not just a technical upgrade; it demands a cultural and procedural overhaul, particularly in ensuring that the workforce is equipped and motivated to adapt.
Legacy systems
David Linford, VP Sales & Account Management, CHAMP Cargosystems, drew a parallel to everyday life, reflecting on how automation – from speed cameras to e-tickets – has replaced human discretion with strict digital enforcement. He said the air cargo industry faces a similar journey, where legacy systems and “the way we’ve always done it” are difficult to abandon, but must be challenged for businesses to keep pace with customer and regulatory demands. He highlighted the value of advanced data logistics, noting that with predictive analytics, companies can allocate resources more precisely, minimise queuing, and cut unnecessary paperwork, improving both customer satisfaction and compliance with emerging regulatory expectations.
Pedro Garcia, CIO at WFS, and Matthias Hurst, owner of Colog, deepened the conversation on interoperability, noting that the industry remains highly fragmented, with multiple protocols and “languages” preventing seamless data exchange. However, they pointed to industry-wide collaborations, such as the IATA One Record initiative, as pivotal to establishing open standards.
Hurst, in particular, championed openness and adaptability, asserting that “closed systems die, open systems adapt.” He advocated for developing global cargo community systems and involving all industry stakeholders in contributing to standards – through working groups and collective problem-solving at events such as industry hackathons – to ensure broad buy-in and rapid problem resolution.
Transformative potential
Looking to the future, the panel examined the transformative potential of emergent technologies: Ai, IoT, digital twins, computer vision, automation, and generative Ai. Panelists agreed these innovations promise to overhaul how freight is tracked, handled, and verified – driving accuracy, speed, and safety while reducing manual intervention – and also generating environmental benefits, if cargo data is shared digitally and resource allocation is optimised.
A key thread throughout was the vital role of people and partnerships, and Janet Wallace reflected on lessons learned from deploying industrial engineers, noting that digital transformation falters if cultural adaptation is overlooked. Panellists agreed that while individual companies can drive digitalisation within their own ecosystems, end-to-end improvement requires collaboration among partners across the logistics chain.
Visions for 2030
The session closed with panellists visions for 2030 – in which they envisioned a truly digital cargo world defined by collaborative platforms, real-time data sharing, and multi-modal logistics corridors. They anticipate a further shift toward open digital marketplaces, and widespread application of Ai for operational and commercial optimisation.
The panellists urged the industry to be proactive, participate in standards development and hackathons, and to foster honest dialogue about inefficiencies—because sometimes, as Kendy Choi summarised, the difference between a persistent problem and its solution is just “one honest conversation.”
Discussion 3: Building the Future of Cargo Airports
A panel discussion on ‘Building the Future of Cargo Airports’ assembled senior airport cargo executives to reimagine the ideal cargo airport, and debate future directions, sharing perspectives on implementing new technology tools, operational efficiency, sustainability, and the evolving air cargo landscape.
Moderator Asok Kumar, CEO of logistics company Morrison Express, challenged the panel to define an “ideal” cargo airport, from the operator’s standpoint but also in relation to customer expectations in freight forwarding.
Pascale De Mieter from Maastricht Aachen Airport outlined her vision of the airport as a “smart logistics superhero,” stressing the importance of digital operations, seamless real-time data, and agility. She identified flexibility as a top priority, noting that while some airports lack vast infrastructure, they can compensate by pivoting rapidly and maintaining strong multimodal connectivity. De Mieter also pointed to the significance of technological integration and the interpersonal factor, emphasising the role of creative staff and solution-oriented approaches.
Kaspar Andreas Nissen, senior manager for air cargo at Billund Airport, crediting the recent growth in cargo traffic at the Danish regional airport to its blend of service flexibility and operational efficiency. He argued that these strengths should be preserved and scaled as the airport grows.
Roland Weil, VP of cargo sales at Fraport, said Frankfurt Airport increasingly sees itself as a facilitator for the entire supply chain, and not just a major hub but also definitely a cargo airport – highlighting Fraport’s target to grow cargo volumes by 50% over the next 15 years as an indicator of its ambitions, despite stagnant overall market growth rates for established major European airports.
Steven Verhasselt, lead air freight consultant at airports group Egis, said future cargo hubs should function as logistics platforms capable of supporting multi-modal solutions, not simply as airports. He argued that the ultimate destination in shipments is always “door-to-door,” requiring a network that can flexibly facilitate movement by air, road, rail, or sea, depending on speed, cost, and customer requirements.
Nissen explained that Billund is pursuing digitalisation and automation as a key part of both its efficiency and sustainability vision, highlighting a new system allowing the rapid screening of sealed vehicles, efforts to reduce paperwork, and the electrification of ground support equipment (GSE).
Digitalisation and automation
The panel agreed that digitalisation and artificial intelligence (Ai) are increasingly central to operational improvements and competitiveness. Nissen argued that the industry must transition from fragmented, paper-based processes to integrated digital systems, minimising manual input and focusing resources on value-adding activities.
Roland Weil highlighted Fraport’s creation of a dedicated software company, Allivate, in partnership with third-party tech specialist Dakosy, as an example of how an airport can use its expertise, scale, and neutral role to help advance its entire cargo community, by further developing its digital cargo community system (CCS).
Verhasselt highlighted “sustainability through efficiency,” contending that optimising truck and flight loads using Ai and data analytics can yield greater environmental and economic benefits than marginal fuel improvements or hardware replacements. He observed that while the promise of data-driven automation is substantial, physical handling remains essential, and human oversight in warehouses and logistics centres cannot be entirely replaced.
Competitive landscape
As air cargo market dynamics continue to evolve, Pascal De Mieter argued that smaller airports like Maastricht should position themselves as complementary hubs rather than direct competitors, for example, by serving as an overflow or alternative for Schiphol, which faces slot constraints. In her view, cooperation and agility can turn small facilities into “powerful gateways” by helping larger network airports and integrating more deeply with other transport modes.
Stephen Verhasselt suggested that “small is beautiful”— arguing that regional airports can act more efficiently for point-to-point services, and offer faster, more direct market access under certain circumstances. He pointed to practical considerations, such as time spent taxiing at larger hubs versus immediate access at smaller facilities, to highlight operational efficiencies from scale diversity.
Nissen agreed that both large and small airports have distinct roles shaped by market demand and investment needs. He predicted that airport infrastructure would only become more critical as cargo volumes and speed expectations increase, with specialised flexibility at smaller airports complementing the capacity and connectivity of major gateways.
Concluding the session, Asok Kumar underlined the continued relevance of all airport types in a rapidly changing market, identifying sustainability, digitalisation, and strategic positioning as essential themes for the sector, and reflecting the panel consensus that flexible collaboration and technological integration will drive future progress for cargo airports of all sizes.
