In a media roundtable held on Thursday, senior executives from IAG Cargo, Air Cargo Forum India and DSV Air and Sea Pvt Ltd outlined the need for adoption of sustainable practices in the air cargo industry.
Adoption of sustainable practices in the air cargo industry will have an impact on margins in the short-term but the industry is prepared to accept additional costs for the long-term good, said John Cheetham, Chief Commercial Officer, IAG Cargo.
In a media roundtable held on Thursday, senior executives from IAG Cargo, Air Cargo Forum India and DSV Air and Sea Pvt Ltd outlined the need for adoption of sustainable practices in the air cargo industry.
“We want to make sure that we have a viable business going forward. We are going to have a lower margin as a result of making these commitments. There will always be a cheaper way of doing things if we don’t have values around sustainability,” said Cheetham.
“However, longer term, if you are not participating in sustainable practices, you are not going to exist. So you might have a better short-term margin but long-term, you are not going to exist in the business,” he added.
IAG Cargo outlined that in a recent survey undertaken by it, 68% of respondents from India consider sustainability ‘extremely important’ now compared to 2021. IAG Cargo is engaged in undertaking cargo operations in India in partnership with logistics companies such as Skyways Group, DSV Air and Sea, among others. In 2021, IAG Cargo had a commercial revenue of €1,673 million (euro).
IAG Cargo is the air cargo handling division of International Airlines Group, the parent company of British Airways.
“We are looking to replace something like 150 aircraft in the next five years, and the replacement will be giving us 40% reduced emissions through fuel efficiency of the new aircraft,” added Cheetham.
Yashpal Sharma, President, Air Cargo Forum India and Managing Director, Skyways Group, outlined that even though the industry is working on the adoption of sustainable aviation fuel, the same is likely to simply act as a bridge to an option which is more sustainable and environmentally friendly.
“I think SAF (sustainable aviation fuel) is a bridge between where we are and where we are going to go. SAF is not something that is a long-term solution, but it’s a bridge possibly in between,” said Sharma highlighting that hydrogen can very well emerge as an alternative clean energy source.
