The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced three new initiatives focused around the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in air cargo to improve operational efficiency, strengthen safety and compliance, and accelerate innovation.
Brendan Sullivan, IATA’s global head of cargo, said: “The scope for AI to accelerate air cargo’s digital transformation is enormous.”
The first initiative is the IATA’s launch of AI Subject Matter Expert (AI SME), a mobile and web-based application to help operational teams quickly find information in IATA cargo and safety publications by asking questions in plain language, supporting faster decision-making, strengthening compliance, and improving efficiency in time-critical environments.
IATA says that AI SME will be available initially for the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR) and the IATA Cargo Handling Manual (ICHM) and will be rolled out progressively across IATA’s suite of reference publications.
Second is the launch of the Air Cargo AI Excellence Hub bringing together airlines, ground handlers, freight forwarders, technology providers, and regulators to support the orderly integration of AI in air cargo.
IATA says the Hub will enable collaboration on best practices in areas such as governance and compliance, the sharing of experiences, and the development and deployment of standards.
The first initiative is IATA and its strategic partners are exploring the potential for AI to achieve efficiencies in interline air cargo, with the aim of developing a use case to enable airlines using different IT systems to collaborate in real time on bookings, disruptions, and cancellations by using AI agents to achieve system interoperability among users.
This initiative is part of the Data & Technology Proof of Concept (PoC) area in the Strategic Partnerships Program.
Sullivan said: “Together, these initiatives will help to make the most of AI’s potential with an industry adoption that is consistent, interoperable, and aligned with global aviation standards.
“Importantly, we will learn from these initiatives to identify additional areas where standards, technological innovation, and collaborative development can enable safer, smarter, and more efficient operations.”
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