Press release -
Lufthansa Cargo at the Forefront of Digitalizing the Air Freight Industry
- IATA Announces First Signatories to Air Cargo Digitalization Leadership Charter
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced the launch of the IATA Digitalization Leadership Charter at the IATA World Cargo Symposium in Hong Kong, China. Cathay Cargo, CHAMP Cargosystems, Global Logistics System (HK) Company Limited, IAG Cargo, IBS Software, LATAM Cargo, and Lufthansa Cargo are the inaugural signatories of the charter.
The Digitalization Leadership Charter aims to accelerate the air cargo industry’s digitalization journey by committing to five key guiding principles. Developed in consultation with IATA’s Cargo Advisory Council members and the wider air cargo community, the charter seeks to drive innovation, enhance efficiency, and promote a sustainable and harmonized digital transformation. Central to the charter is the importance of data sharing using IATA ONE Record for smooth and efficient data exchange.
“Digitalization is imperative for the air cargo industry. It requires alignment to ensure a unified and effective approach. IATA has introduced the Digitalization Charter to spearhead this alignment. By adhering to the Charter's principles—such as adopting industry-wide standards, championing sustainability, ensuring ethical technology use, and upholding digital leadership—the charter sets a benchmark for excellence,” said Brendan Sullivan, IATA’s Global Head of Cargo.
“Our engagement in ONE Record, setting new standards in the digitalization of our industry in the last years and now committing to IATA’s Digitalization Leadership Charter as one of the first signatories, proofs that we are pioneering this topic. We are looking forward to further drive digitalization with our partners and get the industry ready for the future,” adds Ashwin Bhat, CEO of Lufthansa Cargo.
The Digital Leadership Guiding Principles include commitments to:
- Developing a unified and collaborative digital strategy that champions interoperability and the use of global standards across the entire supply chain.
- Enhancing organizational resiliencethrough building robust digital infrastructure and implementing strategies that safeguard against cybersecurity risks while ensuring the responsible use of generative AI.
- Pursuing sustainable digitalization with a focus on supporting eco-friendly technology initiatives.
- Pursuing digital excellence by staying ahead of digital trends, ensuring secure and sustainable practices, and establishing industry best practices.
Using new technology ethically when embracing emerging technologies.
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Lufthansa Cargo AG
With revenue of 3.0 billion euros and a transport performance of 7.5 billion freight ton kilometers in 2023, Lufthansa Cargo is one of the world's leading companies in the transport of airfreight. The company currently employs around 4,150 people worldwide. Lufthansa Cargo's focus is on the airport-to-airport business. The route network covers around 300 destinations in more than 100 countries, using both freighter aircraft and cargo capacity from passenger aircraft operated by Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Discover Airlines and SunExpress, as well as trucks. The majority of the cargo business is handled via Frankfurt Airport. Lufthansa Cargo is pursuing the goal of becoming the world's most environmentally friendly cargo airline. To achieve this, the company relies on state-of-the-art technologies and constant investments in the area of sustainability. In 2023, important milestones were reached, such as the investment in the continuous expansion of the B777F fleet, the expansion of short- and medium-haul networks with A321 freighters, and the continuation of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel program. In 2024, Lufthansa Cargo plans to successively equip its B777F fleet with Sharkskin technology, implement further digital services and contribute to reducing CO2 emissions through sustainable logistics solutions. Lufthansa Cargo is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Lufthansa AG and the specialist for the logistics business of the Lufthansa Group.
