Incheon and Schiphol join hands in e-freight drive
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Korea's Incheon International Airport have today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), in which the two major cargo gateways will cooperate in the promotion of e-freight (paperless air cargo transportation) as a means of facilitating business between them.
The MoU requires the two airports to encourage the formulation of agreements for the use of e-freight between local parties to their supply chain. It also provides for the exchange of e-freight knowledge and expertise between the two hubs, and paves the way for research and development into projects that will further stimulate the use of e-freight between, and from, both Schiphol and Incheon.
Mr. Young-Geun Lee, Executive VP signed the MoU for Incheon Airport, while Mr. Enno Osinga, Senior VP Cargo, signed on behalf of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The signing ceremony took place at IATA's World Cargo Symposium in Istanbul, witnessed by a large audience of senior executives from the world's leading airlines and freight forwarders.
Like Schiphol, which is one of the hubs of Skyteam Alliance member Air France KLM, Incheon Airport is also a Skyteam hub, being home to Korean Airlines. A number of major shippers are involved in this trade lane, including Korea's manufacturing giant Samsung Electronics, and Netherlands- based ASML (manufacturer of semiconductor instruments) which was a founding member of the E-freight@NL project.
Says Saskia van Pelt, Schiphol's Director Business Development, Cargo, who is responsible for the airport's e-freight activities: E-freight is a vital initiative that will strengthen the air cargo industry, improve efficiency and profitability for all parties in the supply chain, and make a significant contribution to aviation's sustainability efforts.
Our growth strategy is to develop e-freight on a route-by-route basis, partnering with like-minded hubs in other continents. This agreement with Incheon Airport is a significant step forward in our goals to become a paperless hub for air cargo, and Europe's cargo gateway of choice.
Adds Mr. Young-Geun Lee, Executive Vice President of Incheon International Airport: We want to differentiate our cargo service by providing Fast & Easy service to our customers. E-freight is the core project to achieve this goal, as it can save an average 24 hours' lead time, and simplify the process through one-time keying of data. This also enhances data accuracy, and improves supply chain visibility.
Korea achieved excellent e-freight performance in 2010, generating 68% of the world's international and domestic e-Freight volumes. But as it is a two-way process, we cannot reach our goal to provide efficient service to our customer through our own effort alone. Thus we are very happy to have Schiphol as our partner, as another leading airport in this field and also the hub for Europe. By introducing the efficiency of e-Freight between these two major hubs, we are also expecting an increase in cargo volumes.
About Incheon International Airport:
Incheon International Airport is the gateway of Northeast Asia, handling the region's second largest international cargo volume in 2010. In January 2011, the airport was selected as winner of Airport Council International's annual Service Excellence Award as Best Airport Worldwide, for the sixth successive year. Incheon International Airport is also a leader in e-Freight, with its development and operation of AIRCIS, the single platform for e-Freight in Korea. From 2011 all Korean e-Freight documents, representing 68% of the world's total, will be transmitted using this system.
About Amsterdam Airport Schiphol:
Schiphol is the third largest cargo airport in Europe, and ranked sixteen in the world. In 2010, the airport's cargo throughput totalled 1,512,256 tonnes, up 17.6% on the previous year. The Schiphol air cargo community employs over 26,000 people.
E-freight is a significant element in Schiphol Airport's drives for sustainability, and greater efficiency in air cargo. Schiphol Cargo - the airport's dedicated cargo division - conducted its first e-freight session in January 2010, and formed the Efreight@NL consortium in April 2010. In November, it held the first Eday@AMS event, and also signed an MoU on e-freight with Singapore's Changi Airport at the TIACA Air Cargo Forum.
About e-freight:
E-freight is an IATA initiative which aims to replace paper with digital documents throughout all elements of the air cargo supply chain - including shippers, forwarders and export customs, carriers, import customs, handling agents, forwarders and consignees. Traditional paper-based air cargo involves some thirty documents for every shipment, and is estimated to create the equivalent of eighty Boeing 747 freighter-loads of paper every year. E-freight eliminates re-keying of data: reducing cost, speeding processes and enhancing accuracy.
About E-Freight@NL:
Another important initiative to turn Amsterdam Airport Schiphol into a paperless cargo hub is the project E-freight@NL. In 2010 the project was awarded a € 1.2 million grant from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. With KLM Cargo as secretary, the project's participants include various supply chain partners and organisations including Air Cargo Netherlands. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol plays a key role in strengthening relations with other major worldwide hubs involved in e-freight, such as Singapore and Hong Kong.
About AIRCIS:
AIRCIS is the air cargo information system built by the Korean government and operated by Incheon International Airport Corporation (IIAC). IIAC and the Korean government signed an MoU with IATA to drive e-Freight in Korea using AIRCIS as a single platform, at the IATA World Cargo Symposium 2010.