FROM MAGAZINE: Countdown begins for Air Cargo Africa 2017

The global air cargo community will come together at the most awaited trade event ‘Air Cargo Africa 2017’ in Johannesburg, South Africa to discuss ideas that will help the industry to deal with current challenges such as low yields and over capacity. The conference sessions will also bring to the fore variety of much discussed subjects such as e-commerce, technological innovations that will potentially transform the future of the industry. Alongside this, representatives from high yield shippers/exporters are also set to take centre stage at the Air Shippers’ Forum and Pharma Shippers’ Forum.

The fourth edition of exhibition cum conference ‘AIR CARGO AFRICA’, themed ‘Airfreight in Africa - Building tomorrow’s market today’ will witness participation from the global air cargo community at large to explore and tap the enormous potential within the emerging markets of African continent.

The event, organised by the STAT Media Group, will be held from February 21-23 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

South African Airways Cargo is contributing to the event as a key sponsor for the third time. “We are excited once again to enter into a partnership with STAT Trade Times after the success of the previous conferences and exhibitions. We look forward to making a contribution to a discussion focussing on Africa’s economic growth prospects,” said Tleli Makhetha, general manager, South African Airways Cargo.

“The event plays an important role in the development of airfreight in Africa. The interaction between the various role players helps to highlight opportunities that are available and how each one can make a contribution to the growth of the industry. As a major role player in the region we are duty bound to make sure that we make a significant contribution,” adds Makhetha.

The global air cargo industry is currently facing challenges such as low yields and over capacity. The conference sessions will be based on variety ofthese subjects currently concerning the industry and also provide insights into the future of air cargo. The sessions will also will demonstrate how factors such as technological innovations mainly Data Analytics, the Internet Of Things (IoT), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) popularly known as drones and e-commerce boom will prove to a be a game changer for the industry.

Following the success of round table discussions that saw participation in huge numbers from the shippers and the logistics service providers, the event this year will feature four air shippers’ forums. The objective is to give a platform for the shippers to meet with other links in the supply chain and address the challenges faced by them.

The Pharma Air Shippers Forum, hosted by Brussels Airport on the first day of the event, will be attended by logistics and supply chain heads of major pharmaceutical companies.

Frankfurt Airport is sponsoring the Air Shippers Forum on automotive cargo. The session will be held on second day of the three day event and will be one of the four commodity specific logistics conferences that the fourth edition of Air Cargo Africa is rolling out this year.

Another highly talked about topic humanitarian aid will be discussed at the Humanitarian Aid Air Shippers Forum on day two of the event and is sponsored by Liege Airport.

The Perishables Air Shippers Forum will be held on the first day of the event and provide an ocean of opportunities for logistics providers to enter the refrigerated transportation market in Africa given that the continent needs better perishable supply chain services.

The conference programme has attracted industry stalwarts as speakers including Glyn Hughes, Global Head of Cargo, IATA; Michael Steen, Executive VP and Chief Commercial Officer, Atlas Air Worldwide; Nils Pries Knudsen, Head of Global Cargo, Swissport International; Rainer Muller, Vice President-Commercial, Saudia Cargo; Sanjeev Gadhia, Founder & CEO, Astral Aviation; Conrad Archer, Country Manager Director, Panalpina Airflow, Kenya; Ulrich Ogiermann, Chief Officer Cargo, Qatar Airways; Peter Musola, AG, General Manager – Cargo, Kenya Airways; Joscha Kremers, Officer-in- charge, United Nations; Meshack Kipturgo, Managing Director, Siginon Aviation; Bongiwe Pityi, General Manager, OR Tambo International Airport among others.

Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) and Africa Flight Services (AFS) will be hosting ‘Welcome Reception’ on February 20 for the air cargo community.

One of the integral parts of every AIR CARGO AFRICA edition is the STAT Times International Award for Excellence in Air Cargo which is organised on the evening of the second day.

Air Cargo Africa 2015 gathered a record number of 80 International Exhibiting Companies, 527 global industry decision makers as registered delegates and brought in an impressive number of 2915 trade visitors from across 29 African countries and 32 countries from other continents to explore business prospects.