Popular air cargo show returns to Jo’burg
The city of Johannesburg will host AIR CARGO AFRICA, the most popular air cargo exhibition cum conference of the continent, again in February this year bolstering African continent’s potential in the air freight industry.
Nowhere in the world is the potential for aviation greater than on the African continent, home to over a billion people spread across 20 percent of the world’s land mass. Aviation has aided linking the continent to the world and plays a powerful role in integrating the 54 national economies of Africa. Aviation allows even the most remote destinations to be a part of the global economy. In fact a few of the robust African economies are turning the continent into a success story offering huge potential for connecting global trade and commerce with African economies. The World Bank estimates that the continent’s growth prospects remain favorable despite emerging challenges, such as weaker commodity prices and tighter global financial conditions. Foreign direct investment (FDI) continued to flow to the region, not only in the oil, gas and mining sectors but also in non-extractive industries. Net FDI inflows were an estimated $43 billion in 2013, up from $37 billion in 2012. With the GDP growth rapid in some regions and with relatively low intra-trade taking place within Africa, demand for cargo services across most industry sectors looks set to increase over the next five years. African economies are undoubtedly growing economies and the range of cargo required is wide. The global demand for the continent’s huge pool of natural resources continues to escalate, leading to interest from the international logistics sector keen to snare a piece of the action. Air cargo has been a tremendous enabler for economic development. This is largely because of the speed at which this mode of transport allows goods to get distributed around the world and the geographic reach air cargo offers to trade and commerce. And for Africa, air cargo is even more crucial to effectively connect with international markets. Therefore, AIR CARGO AFRICA, organised by The STAT Trade Times, provides an ideal win-win situation to every player in the air freight industry, who are looking out for fresh opportunities. It is an international biennial exhibition cum conference conceptualised to showcase Africa's air cargo potential on a global scale. In its past two editions - inaugural edition at Nairobi in 2011 and the second edition at Johannesburg in 2013 - the event had attracted significant participation from major airlines and airports, particularly from Africa. The third edition of AIR CARGO AFRICA is themed around ‘Air Cargo: Africa’s path to sustainable growth’ reflecting the importance of the air freight industry within African economies. The event will take place from February 25 to 27 at Emperors Palace & Casino Resort in Johannesburg's East Rand. At the third edition expect to listen to some of the best chief executives of world’s leading aviation companies share their thoughts on what keeps the aviation industry, particularly air cargo, going and help you make realistic assessment of the industry and sharpen your business vision. The CEOs who have confirmed participation as speakers include Saxen Van Coller, Chief Executive Officer, Dube TradePort Corporation; Amine EL Farissi, CEO, Atlas Cargo Lines, The Royal Air Maroc Cargo Subsidiary; Sanjeev Gadhia, Founder & CEO, Astral Aviation and Dokisime Gnama Latta, Director General, National Civil Aviation Administration (NCAA), Togolese Republic. AIR CARGO AFRICA is one of the most popular air cargo events in the world and it is an ideal place to listen to the who’s who of the air cargo industry and enrich yourself from their leadership thoughts. Other leaders who have confirmed participation include Glyn Hughes, global head of cargo, IATA; Ulrich Ogiermann, Chief Officer Cargo, Qatar Airways; Oliver Evans, chief cargo officer, SwissWorld; Justin Lancaster, Group Commercial Director, Air Charter Service (ACS); Colin David Baldwin, Senior Vice President, Africa, Swissport Cargo Services; Tleli Makhetha, General Manager, SAA Cargo; Carsten Wirths, VP Area Management, Europe & Africa, Lufthansa Cargo AG; David Shepherd, Global Head of Commercial, IAG Cargo; Barry D Nassberg, Group Chief Operating Officer, Worldwide Flights Services; D Dick Murianki, General Manager, Cargo, Kenya Airways; Ivin George, Vice President, DHL Global Forwarding, Duncan Watson, Vice President, Commercial Operations, Emirates Airline; and Soomi Ro, Chief of Logistics & Transportation at the United Nations. At the last edition in Johannesburg, the event saw 413 key decision makers from global air cargo industry participating as delegates and attracted 2865 visitors coming from 51 countries of which 27 countries were from Africa alone. Besides there were 77 companies, representing airlines, airports, freight forwarders, ground handlers, technology solution providers, exhibiting their products and services. The event garnered great support from the City of Ekurhuleni, which is home to O R Tambo International Airport, the busiest airport in Africa. In fact the 2013 event was inaugurated by Clr Thumbu Mahlangu, a Member of Mayoral Committee for Public Transport, Planning and Provision for the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality.
