Singapore Changi and Frankfurt airports sign up to Cargo iQ

From the IATA World Cargo Symposium (WCS) in Lima, Peru, Cargo iQ has announced that two new airports - key airfreight hub - have joined the group. Marie Seco-Köppen, executive director of Cargo iQ, announced that Frankfurt Airport and Singapore Changi Airport have joined the organisation as strategic members. They will now work with Cargo iQ to develop an implementation pathway with a tailored project plan to define the value propositions and requirements of their membership. Cargo iQ is a not-for-profit quality standards group working to create and implement specifications to enhance the customer service experience of the global air cargo industry. The organisation is supported by IATA as one of its interest groups. Seco-Köppen remarked: "Airports play a key role in the air cargo supply chain, and their inclusion in the Cargo iQ framework will strengthen collaboration across all member types. "The leadership and operational perspective provided by these airports will be instrumental in advancing industry quality standards and improving the efficiency of cargo handling." The role of cargo airports in Cargo iQ Cargo iQ was originally founded created by airlines and forwarders to improve reliability in the supply chain. It now has more than 60 members from across the airfreight industry, including airlines, forwarders, ground handlers, IT solution providers and road feeder services (RFS) providers. According to the group, once a formal value proposition is developed, which will follow in coming months, airports will become an implementable member of Cargo iQ's framework, contributing to Cargo iQ's Master Operating Plan (MOP) and aligning performance definitions. "Airports will potentially provide valuable insights on both airside and landside operations, including congestion," Rutger-Jan Pegels, vice chair, Cargo iQ and director, performance management at Dutch carrier KLM, noted. "Integrating them into Cargo iQ will support standardisation and quality development for all stakeholders while also supporting a local cargo community approach." Freight hubs Singapore Changi Airport saw cargo volumes improve last year on the back of frontloading and the return of freighter services. The Asian airport, a major transhipment hub, saw air cargo demand in 2025 increase by 4.5% year on year to reach 2.1m tonnes. The airport said that the year was one of the "best cargo performances" in its history. Meanwhile, Frankfurt Airport's cargo volumes increased by 2% to 1.99m tonnes last year. "Over the course of the year, a steady upward trend in cargo volumes at Frankfurt Airport became apparent," the airport operator, Fraport, said.

Carriers 'dumping cargo anywhere' and 'dumping the charges on us', claim forwarders

Carriers' "safe port" practices, provoked by the US/Israel war on Iran, have left forwarders pulling their hair out amid claims that shipping lines have "revoked to type", despite promises post-Covid of a less-hostile relationship with customers. Multiple forwarders have told The Loadstar they are seeing their boxes "dumped anywhere" as container lines look to deal with the fallout of the latest conflict in the Middle East. One forwarder said: "Carriers are literally pulling into any port and offloading cargo, with it left up to us to work out how to get the cargo to its final destination. This is resulting in loads of additional costs being dumped on us too. "There is the fee we are charged for the unloading, then they are also hitting us with storage charges. They can drop these boxes anywhere they want, and are, and they are offering us no support - often not even telling us until the container has been unloaded." The Loadstar has been made aware of instances of boxes bound for Dubai having been left at Qingdao Port in China - at the start of the vessel's journey; carriers including Maersk and MSC having been highlighted for the practice. An end-of-voyage advisory - which kickstarts the process of carriers searching for a safe port - sent out by MSC, seen by The Loadstar, informed customers that they would be charged $800 'per box unloaded', with further charges applied for storage. Another forwarder told The Loadstar: "We understand what is happening in the Gulf and along the Strait of Hormuz. We are not ignorant of that, and we are not looking for the shipping lines to ignore it and carry on as before. What we are asking for is for carriers to communicate with us and give us advance warning and options on how we can resolve the disruption for our customers. "What we don't want is this reflex they have, which is penalise us and take advantage of us at every opportunity." Other forwarders echoed the claims, one suggesting it felt very much like carriers had a "don't care mentality", as far as customers were concerned, while another asked: "What am I supposed to do when this happens?" Yet another said while, they were having issues, the carriers they were dealing with at least seemed to be getting cargo comparatively close to final destination, saying: "We had a Saudi-destined box left in Egypt," but adding that they had "a lot of support from other forwarders". As this issue was going to press, Maersk had yet to respond to requests for comment, but CEO Vincent Clerc noted that the Danish liner had 10 containerships trapped in the Gulf as attacks against commercial shipping intensified. During an interview with CNN last night, Mr Clerc added: "And we've numerous ships that are on their way to the region, for which we have had to have contingencies about where they're going to drop cargo. "They are not going to wait for the strait to reopen. We will stage the cargo either in Oman or in Jeddah, or in other places, in ports where we have access, and then the ship will go on its way to the next assignment." One European forwarder told The Loadstar Oman was increasingly becoming a staging post for their shipments into the other Gulf countries, and there was growing chaos at warehouses across the world that were filling up with Gulf-bound shipments. The forwarder said they were organising, with the shipping lines, to use Oman ports as discharge points from where they would load goods onto trucks for onward transport to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. "We are global transport architects. We have to find a solution and we are finding solutions. There are issues - not least dealing with unexpected customs bureaucracy. It's not as simple as 'pick another country', but we are making it work," they said.

Aircargo Services Hannover hires aeroconcept to review safety

Aviation consulting business aeroconcept has signed a new air cargo management consultancy contract with Aircargo Services Hannover GmbH (ASH), the cargo handling division of Hannover Airport (HAJ). Under the agreement, signed during the IATA World Cargo Symposium (WCS) in Lima, Peru, aeroconcept has been commissioned to conduct a comprehensive review of the existing Safety Management System (SMS) of Aircargo Services Hannover to ensure that the current framework is updated and aligned with future operational needs and growth. The project has been launched to ensure that air cargo operations at Aircargo Services Hannover meet and exceed relevant regulatory standards, strengthening safety, operational resilience, and risk management across all cargo handling activities The project will be led by Moritz Hampel, consultant at aeroconcept. Drawing on his experience in Safety Management Systems, regulatory compliance, and air cargo operations, Moritz will oversee the review, implementation and execution of the project. As air cargo continues to play a vital role in global supply chains, robust safety management systems remain essential for ensuring secure, compliant, and efficient operations. This collaboration marks another milestone for aeroconcept in supporting airports and cargo operators across Europe in adapting to evolving regulatory requirements. "This project further demonstrates our ongoing commitment to strengthening safety performance in the air cargo industry," said James Wyatt, general manager at aeroconcept. "We are proud to support Aircargo Services Hannover in enhancing their safety and quality standards, ensuring they deliver a consistent and high-quality service for their air cargo customers and airport stakeholders" Florian Schulte, vice president, operations, Aircargo Services Hannover, added: "We are delighted to onboard aeroconcept to support our Safety Management System review and enhancement. We are at an important stage of our operational development and now is the right time to ensure we are fit for purpose for the upcoming years of cargo operations at Hannover Airport." Aircargo Services Hannover GmbH is a major cargo handling agent in Northern Germany, representing more than 20 airlines as well as several logistics partners at Hannover Airport.