TIACA launches 4Cargo event series; Airports4Cargo to be held on June 24 at Brussels

February 14, 2020: The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) announces the launch of a new event series: the TIACA 4Cargo Conferences and Workshops designed for subject matter experts and thought leaders in specialised cargo domains such as airports, sustainability, drones and more.

The first TIACA 4Cargo event will be an Airports4Cargo Conference, focused on issues that affect airports and the cargo communities they support: digital platforms, excellency in handling, efficient and sustainable processes, talent management. Held on June 24 and 25, 2020 in Brussels, Belgium and to be hosted by Brussels Airport, the two-day conference will be organised in conjunction with the opening ceremony of the new 50,000 square metres BRUCargo facility on June 24.

"As chairman of TIACA, I am very happy to see how we are further developing the organisation and steering it in the direction of delivering more content to our members and the industry. As director cargo and logistics of Brussels Airport, I also know from experience how important the role of airports can be or should be when it comes to air cargo. I heard many people in the industry complain about the lack of investment in cargo but at the same time, as an industry, we do not celebrate or give enough attention to these investments in case they happen. My hope is to see our industry celebrating each success and investments anywhere in the world together and I believe TIACA is the perfect organisation to orchestrate this in the years to come," Stevens Polmans said. 

As part of its modernisation programme, the association has been working on its new events strategy and calendar to offer the air cargo community more opportunities to learn from success stories and shape the future of air cargo in specific areas of expertise.

The feedback received through the recent membership survey confirms members expect TIACA to play an active role in educating the industry on specific topics linked to economics of air cargo, infrastructure investments, and operational efficiencies as well as supporting or leading change in the areas of sustainability, innovation, digital transformation, and attractiveness of the industry.

The new TIACA 4Cargo events, either in the form of conferences or short workshops, will contribute to meeting these expectations as TIACA events offer not only great networking platforms, but also opportunities to listen to inspiring leaders, share best practices, and grow knowledge, exposure, and business.

Building on the success of its last Executive Summit in Budapest organised together with the BUD Cargo City Opening, TIACA plans to organise Airports4Cargo Conferences in coordination with the opening ceremony of a new cargo facility. This is a great opportunity to raise the international profile of an airport and its local air cargo community as well as to promote the role of airports in air cargo and the importance of cargo investments in cargo facilities, as confirmed by Ren Droese, chief property, and cargo officer, Budapest Airport.

"We, as a rapidly developing cargo-friendly airport in Central Eastern Europe, we're very happy and proud to host the TIACA Executive Summit. It was a great event with a dynamic, interesting, highly professional program, comprehensively covering the challenges and opportunities as well as the hottest topics of the air cargo industry. Our local and regional cargo community, including forwarders, shippers, and agents, had a chance to join us and get direct up-to-date information from top experts and key players in air transport. Combined with our BUD Cargo City handover ceremony, a EUR50 million investment by Budapest Airport, it was an excellent networking event, one of the main highlights of our year. And our efforts investing in the new cargo infrastructure paid off already - all our cargo partners are increasing their businesses. We loved it!"