Roos Bakker, Chair of The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA), is calling on the air cargo industry to place greater emphasis on collaboration and forward-thinking as the sector prepares for the organisation’s Air Cargo Forum in Miami this October.
With advances in digitalisation and artificial intelligence developing at an unprecedented pace around the world, Bakker is challenging industry stakeholders to look beyond today’s priorities and consider what customers will expect five or even ten years from now.
“What [will] our customers will expect from us five or ten years from now, and whether we are building toward that today?” Bakker asked in her latest message to the industry.
She argued that starting with this question can help bring greater clarity to discussions surrounding technology, infrastructure, processes and investment.
“If we begin with that question, many of the conversations around technology, infrastructure, processes and investment become much clearer. We stop designing the future around what is convenient for us and begin designing it around the people we ultimately serve…”
Her comments come as the industry continues to devote increasing attention to artificial intelligence, digital integration and digital systems. Organisations are looking to automation and greater digital efficiency as they seek to improve operational performance and adapt to increasingly complex market conditions.
Bakker noted that change has always been a defining characteristic of air cargo. The sector has repeatedly adjusted to shifting trade patterns, new regulations, evolving security requirements, economic uncertainty and changing customer expectations.
“Air cargo has always been defined by change. We adapt to shifting trade patterns, new regulations, evolving security requirements, economic uncertainty and changing customer expectations. We respond because that is what our customers, partners and the global economy depend upon us to do. Today, however, the pace and complexity of change feels different. Artificial intelligence is moving rapidly from possibility to practical application,” she said.
Alongside the technological transformation, Bakker stressed the importance of cooperation across the entire air cargo ecosystem. The performance of the sector, she suggested, depends on how effectively its different participants work together.
“When one link struggles, the effects can move quickly across the chain. Yet we can still have a tendency to approach shared challenges from within our individual organizational boundaries,” she said.
Bakker pointed to digitalisation, sustainability, security and resilience as areas where cooperation between stakeholders is essential.
“Digitalization cannot reach its full potential if information cannot move between stakeholders. Sustainability cannot be addressed by one sector acting alone. Security depends upon coordination. Resilience depends upon strong partnerships before disruption occurs, not simply rapid reactions afterward,” she added.
For Bakker, the industry’s most significant challenges increasingly extend beyond the boundaries of individual organisations, requiring solutions built on broader cooperation.
“Our industry’s greatest challenges cross organizational boundaries, and our solutions must do the same. Collaboration is not always easy. Different organizations have different priorities, commercial realities and responsibilities,” she said.
She also emphasised that collaboration does not require every participant to have identical priorities or views.
“But meaningful progress rarely comes from everyone agreeing on everything. It comes from creating enough trust to listen to different perspectives, identify common objectives and move forward together.”
Bakker’s comments come almost a month before TIACA’s Air Cargo Forum 2026, which will take place in Miami, Florida, from 26 to 29 October at the Miami Beach Convention Center.
The event is expected to attract more than 4,000 visitors, with more than 250 exhibitors scheduled to participate.
