The founding agreement was signed by six companies: Arthur Welter Transport and Georgi Transport, Wallenborn Transport and Jan de Rijk from Europe, Thor Xpress from the USA, and Wymap Transport from Australia. The announcement was made at the Aviation Connect conference in Athens. Registration of a non-profit organization takes place in Luxembourg.
Henrik Ambak became the Chairman and secretary of the association. The Management board includes: Michael Rau (Sales Director, Arthur Welter Transport), Christian Giorgi (Chief Operating Officer, Georgi Transport), Ram Menon (Chief Operating Officer, Wallenborn Transport), David Smorenburg (Business Development Manager, Jan de Rijk), Kirk Eidis (Owner, Thor Xpress) and Justin Bailey (CEO, Wymap Transport).
The Association is open to new members. Ambak outlined four priorities: recommendations on safety, sustainable development and document management; participation in the development of regulatory standards; interaction with authorities; training and dissemination of information in the industry.
The most pressing problem is the allocation of time slots in airport cargo terminals. Operators are losing truck and driver hours due to inefficient planning, which leads to flight disruptions and non-fulfillment of cargo delivery obligations. IRFA plans to work with ground services to develop common standards for loading and unloading, reducing downtime.
The second area is a standard contract for tenders and service support between airlines and RFS operators. The document will set the framework conditions, while the parties will coordinate the commercial parameters individually.
For foreign economic activity participants using air delivery from the BRICS countries and back, the standardization of slots and contracts directly affects the predictability of transit time: disruptions in the last mile between the airport and the recipient's warehouse are one of the frequent reasons for delays in urgent deliveries.
The third block is ecological transport. The Association intends to promote the development of charging infrastructure and hydrogen refueling facilities at airports, the absence of which hinders the transfer of the fleet to alternative fuels.
The fourth is the working conditions of drivers. Improving access to airport facilities should increase the attractiveness of the profession against the background of a shortage of personnel.
"We are usually forgotten, but if the trucks are not moving, the planes are flying empty. We have never had a voice, and the whole purpose of this is to give us a voice so that we can reach out to the industry and offer something concrete on a structural level," Ram Menon stated.
The idea of the association arose two years ago at the previous Aviation Connect conference. According to the participants, IRFA is the first organization of its kind in the global RFS industry. The Association also intends to introduce uniform standards for cargo data on the road to ensure real—time visibility, a tool in demand by cargo owners when tracking air shipments.
Related materials:
- Ethiopian Cargo has launched on the CargoAi platform: 30,000 freight forwarders have access to flights — how freight forwarders book flights online at current rates
- Air cargo transportation in BRICS: pros, cons and cost — what does air delivery cost and when is it justified
