The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Post Corporation (IPC) have signed a memorandum of understanding to reinforce their cooperation.
Both IATA and IPC aim to promote the development and expansion of safe, secure, accessible and high-quality airmail and air cargo services to help their members serve consumer needs.
IATA and IPC will work together on seven areas including improving security, handover, carriage, delivery and settlement of airmail between postal operators and air carriers.
The other points cover standards for physical flows and electronic data interchange; aligning existing services and developing new ones; piece level tracking for airmail; addressing volumetric challenges; developing regional onboarding initiatives; and improving services from ground handlers and other industry stakeholders.
Alexandre de Juniac, director general and CEO of IATA, said, “International e-commerce is growing at around 20% per year, leading to rapidly changing market conditions for airlines and posts. Ensuring customers get their packages on time while safety and security in postal air transport is maintained is the main priority for posts and air transport operators alike. Cooperation across the supply chain is a must and our MoU with IPC is an important step toward strengthening our activity in this area.”
Holger Winklbauer, CEO of IPC, said, “For more than 10 years, the cooperation between airlines and postal operators has enhanced processes and increased visibility of airmail transport. With this agreement, we want to further strengthen our ties and identify further opportunities for cooperation and joint developments. Both of our sectors can win from a reinforced cooperation in terms of competitiveness and quality of service. Ultimately, this agreement will benefit consumers through more reliable and faster delivery of cross-border mail and packets transported by air.”