By Foster Obi
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has launched IATA ONE Source, an online platform which helps the air cargo industry match shipping needs with the availability of infrastructure capabilities and certifications of service providers across the value chain.
A statement by the Association said that this is particularly timely amid the COVID-19 crisis when shippers of medical supplies and pharmaceuticals need accurate information for time- and temperature-sensitive shipments. ONE Source lists the latest operational information on airlines, airports, cargo handling facilities, freight forwarders, ground handlers, shippers, and trucking companies, adding, “All critical information contained on ONE Source has been verified by IATA to help ensure its accuracy.”
The statement noted that IATA ONE Source is free for all service providers across the air cargo supply chain.
“Air cargo has been essential in the global fight against COVID-19, transporting vital equipment and medicines to those who need them most. However, with over 3,500 differently sized cargo handling facilities worldwide, the industry until now has lacked visibility on the capacities and services these facilities can offer. The need for greater transparency is even more critical in the current context. ONE Source addresses this by providing a single reference point for up-to-date infrastructure and certification data, helping save time and keep air cargo moving,” said Glyn Hughes, IATA’s Global Head of Cargo.
The ONE Source platform offers: Single source of up-to-date certification and infrastructure data
Streamlined information per aviation service provider type allowing for direct capability comparison
ONE Source API providing a direct data feed to company systems.
Increased audit efficiency by complementing risk analysis data for a more accurate evaluation of auditing needs
Reduced audit complexity, focused on Unique Selling Points and security aspects
ONE Source is part of the IATA Smart Facility program, an initiative to create transparency in cargo handling services and enhance essential cargo operational capabilities to a consistently higher baseline level across the industry.
Lowcock said 27 countries “are now in danger of a sharp deterioration in food security” and without quick action “child wasting,” or acute malnutrition, could affect an additional 7 million children in the first year of the pandemic. Digital innovations important to aviation ‘building back better’ from COVID-19, ICAO SG tells ITU World Summit
In her remarks today at the official opening of the final week of the Virtual World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2020, ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu underscored that information and communications technologies are critical to aviation’s role in global UN Sustainable Development Goal attainment, and to how air transport will build back better post-COVID-19.
“Increased air transport digitalization promotes critical efficiencies and capabilities which improve our sector’s capabilities as a catalyst for socio-economic and sustainability benefits,” Dr. Liu stated. “This is especially relevant given that ICAO-compliant air services and international connectivity are already improving global outcomes toward the achievement of 15 of the 17 SDGs.”
Summarizing the devastation COVID-19 is now wreaking on global air connectivity, Dr. Liu also strongly emphasized how digital capabilities will be critical to air transport’s post-pandemic recovery.
“Whether we are talking entirely new technologies, or new applications of existing technologies, digital, AR, and AI solutions are now at hand to permit us to pre-screen passengers and cargo more extensively than ever before, for both health and security risks, and with greater efficiency and less disruption,” Dr. Liu said. “They also provide the foundations for the next generation of autonomous aircraft, drones, and the transformations that Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) will lead to in terms of personal mobility, e-commerce, civilian and community services, and many other applications.”
Dr. Liu also reiterated that, with innovation and digitization set to play such an important role in how we restart and recover on a more sustainable path, and at an ever-increasing rate, ICAO is embracing it today as never before.
“We’re working to achieve greater flexibility, responsiveness, and efficiency where the assessment and rule-making on emerging technologies is concerned, and an important part of my message to you today is that you can count on us to be your committed and effective partner going forward in all things innovation related,” Dr. Liu commented. “We have a great deal we can accomplish together, and ICAO will continue to rely on the partnership and vision of the ITU as we progress together toward a greener, more sustainable, and more innovative digital future for coming generations.”
