IATA has announced three new artificial intelligence initiatives designed to support the digital transformation of air cargo, improve operational efficiency and strengthen safety and compliance across the global airfreight industry.
The projects were unveiled during the IATA World Cargo Symposium currently taking place in Lima, Peru.
The first initiative is focused on making IATA publications more accessible and more useful for operational teams. Under this program, the trade body is introducing AI Subject Matter Expert, or AI SME, a mobile and web-based application that allows users to ask everyday-language questions and quickly retrieve information from IATA’s cargo and safety publications.
The tool is intended to provide accurate answers within seconds, helping teams make faster operational decisions while supporting compliance and efficiency in time-critical environments.
AI SME will initially be available for the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations and the IATA Cargo Handling Manual, before being progressively extended to other IATA reference publications.
The second initiative is the launch of an Air Cargo AI Excellence Hub. IATA said the platform will bring together airlines, ground handlers, freight forwarders, technology providers and regulators in order to support what it described as the orderly integration of AI into air cargo.
The hub will serve as a collaborative forum for sharing experience, discussing governance and compliance, and helping shape standards for future AI deployment in the sector.
The third initiative is focused on improving interline air cargo procedures. IATA and its strategic partners are exploring how AI could enable greater efficiency in interlining by helping airlines operating on different IT systems collaborate in real time on bookings, disruptions and cancellations.
The idea is to use AI agents to support interoperability across different systems. This work forms part of the Data and Technology Proof of Concept area within IATA’s Strategic Partnerships Program.
Brendan Sullivan, IATA’s global head of cargo, said the potential for AI to accelerate air cargo’s digital transformation is enormous. He added that the three initiatives are intended to ensure that industry adoption of AI remains consistent, interoperable and aligned with global aviation standards.
He also said IATA expects to learn from these first initiatives in order to identify additional areas where standards, innovation and collaboration can contribute to safer, smarter and more efficient cargo operations.
Beyond operational use cases, IATA also highlighted the growing importance of AI as a cargo segment in its own right.
One of the key findings in the trade body’s recent report on air cargo’s role in the global economy in 2025 is that the industry played a major role in moving high-value, time-sensitive AI-related goods such as servers, memory chips and data storage units.
Julia Seiermann, IATA’s head of industry analysis, said air cargo was essential in meeting the rapid rise in demand for AI-related products last year, allowing investment in the sector to translate into real economic activity without being held back by logistics constraints.
She added that as economies increasingly depend on strategic high-value technology goods, air cargo will continue to play a vital role in ensuring timely delivery.
