Air cargo industry demands greater public-private collaboration, greater talent management and increased digitization
Madrid, June 1, 2023
Nearly 200 professionals linked to air cargo logistics participated today in the Madrid Air Cargo Day 2023, an event organized by Foro MADCargo in which the important involvement of the air cargo industry in multiplying its competitiveness through public-private partnerships, talent management, the promotion of digitalization and coordination with priority markets such as Latin America was evidenced.
Once again, Madrid Air Cargo Day has demonstrated its value as a reference forum for the air cargo industry and as an instrument to promote competitiveness policies in this sector.
At the opening ceremony, the Director General of Transport of the Community of Madrid, José Luis Fernández-Quejo, renewed the regional government's commitment to set up as soon as possible a large public-private entity to boost and promote the logistics sector in the Community of Madrid.
For her part. María José Cuenda , Commercial and Real Estate General Manager of Aena, celebrated the recent entry into service of new handling facilities at Barajas Airport, which will increase the capacity of the Air Cargo Center by 15%.
As for Moises Solis, president of ALACAT, he announced that the Federation of National Associations of Freight Forwarders and International Logistics Operators of Latin America and the Caribbean has confirmed Madrid as the city chosen to host the 41st ALACAT Congress in 2025, with Foro MADCargo as the host.
Jesús Cuéllar, president of Foro MADCargo, has welcomed this election and has made himself available to the organization to hold a congress at the highest level that will continue to strengthen logistics relations between Spain and Latin America.
Coordination table
The first panel discussion of Madrid Air Cargo Day focused on the analysis and assessment of the first year of operation of the Air Cargo Coordination Board.
It was attended by Paloma Alonso, advisor to the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda; Nuria Lacaci, secretary general of ACE; Jesús Cuéllar, president of Foro MADCargo; Santiago Bassols, general manager of BCL; and Tomás Vázquez, head of the Air Cargo Development Division of Aena.
The participants agreed on the need to speed up the work of the Coordination Committee, to prioritize the actions to be carried out, to provide the committee with a budget and technical and human resources, and to strengthen its structure and institutionalize its existence in order to guarantee its long-term future.
Digital air corridors
The second panel discussion focused on digital air corridors and included the participation of Javier Arán, 1st Vice President of Foro MADCargo; Javier San Millán, Air cargo manager of Asercomex Logistics; Cristina Martín, CEO of Usyncro; and Alfredo Noguerales, Senior Sales Manager EMEA of LATAM Airlines.
The participants in this round table have shown that digital air corridors are already a reality between Spain and Latin America. At the same time, they have detailed the competitive advantages of operating shipments through these digital corridors, ranging from a 35% reduction in operating costs, to an optimization of tracking and reporting of shipments, through a strengthening of sustainability and greater efficiency in the resolution of incidents.
Talent
The attraction of qualified talent was the focus of the third panel discussion of Madrid Air Cargo Day 2023, which was attended by Arturo Galindo, president of the Guatemalan Association of Freight Forwarders; Gabino Diego, CEO of Foro de Logística and director of MADCargo Academy; Jordi Zarcero, business Development Manager Spain at ECS Group; and Marta Serrano, director of the Degree in Transport and Logistics at Camilo José Cela University.
This round table has shown the importance of correlating the training needs of companies with the specialized training offer in the market. In this sense, the first edition of the Advanced Program in Air Cargo Management (PAGCA) was held in Madrid, and it was announced that the second edition will also be held in Barcelona.
Latin America
The Madrid Air Cargo Day has counted in this edition with the presence of a large Latin American delegation, which has lived three pre-congress days in Madrid on the occasion of the ALACAT Congress to be held next week in Barcelona. Madrid Air Cargo Day was the protagonist of one of these days yesterday, with a specific round table on the logistic challenges that unite Spain and Latin America.
Juan Pablo Pacheco, president of the Mexican Association of Freight Forwarders; Ángel Sánchez, president of the Panamanian Association of Freight Forwarders; Galo Molina, treasurer of FIATA and vice president of ALACAT; and Jesús Cuéllar, president of Foro MADCargo, participated at the table.
Madrid Air Cargo Day 2023 was closed by Verónica Elvira Olalla, Deputy Director General of Transport, who insisted on the current Ministry's firm commitment to air cargo, as evidenced by the fact that it is included in the Sustainable Mobility Strategy.
