TIACA’s Roos Bakker takes to the stage. Photo: Emma Murray
TIACA’s executive summit in Warsaw was fun; but better still, it was different – not a word always associated with air cargo conferences, admittedly.
People complain that air cargo is cliquey, an old boys’ club where the same faces say much the same things.
The reality is simpler – air cargo is tiny. After a few events, everybody knows everybody.
But what was striking at TIACA this week was how many people there were that nobody knew. And it wasn’t just a geographical quirk – although of course there were a lot of people from central and eastern Europe, which made a nice change.
But there were other newcomers – and new ideas – everywhere: young people, women, start-ups; people who haven’t spent the past 20 years arguing over airport capacity, or the interminably long road to digitisation.
And it would seem that much of that change is down to TIACA’s varied and interesting awards programmes, which have rewarded the industry with fresh blood.
Some attendees were in their late teens and twenties, others half a century older, but also brimming with new ideas and a whole new lease of life, focused on ecommerce, electric aircraft, and new delivery models.
(Watching air cargo veterans Stan Wraight and Jacques Heeremans’ video of the pair in flight on the new Beta electric aircraft, huge beams on their faces like kids at a sweet shop, was as pleasurable as hearing about young female-led start-ups in the business)
It’s hard not to like an industry when you see people rediscovering why they fell in love with it in the first place.
The conference itself has also come a long way.
For years, air cargo conferences have had a tendency to be dull: same-old, same-old. Digitisation, sustainability. A map of an airport showing it to be in the heart of its own catchment area; an SaaS provider bearing their wares. Many men.
Photo: Emma Murray, Meantime Communications
While air cargo still has some way to go, Warsaw felt noticeably different. Women weren’t just present on stage; they were moderating, leading discussions, and speaking as commercial and operational decision-makers.
The percentage of female speakers has doubled since TIACA’s 2024 event – and this week was above 30%, a number to be very much congratulated.
But not only were there more women, there was also more personality. A keynote speaker from outside the industry brought fresh thinking. A fireside chat with United Cargo’s Jan Krems was exactly that, a look at his career.
And even the networking is evolving. (Much gratitude to Port Polska and LOT Cargo for two beautiful evenings in stunning settings).
The Miami ACF later this year will feature not just golf – thank God – but yoga and pickleball too. (No doubt somewhere, an air cargo executive is currently googling “pickleball”).
Much of this change can largely be traced back to one person.
Glyn Hughes has spent the past several years dragging TIACA into the modern era. Membership has grown; the association feels more relevant. It has become more willing to challenge itself, and more willing to welcome people who weren’t already part of the furniture.
Replacing him will not be easy. We understand there were around 30 applicants for the role and an announcement is expected soon. Mr Hughes has offered to stay around and help – if his successor wants it – and why wouldn’t they? The transformation isn’t quite finished. In many ways, the hard work of the past years is only just becoming visible.
The next secretary general will inherit an organisation with momentum, energy and, perhaps most importantly, optimism. So, as they say in politics, a continuity candidate would make a lot of sense. The foundations have been laid; the shoots are appearing. Now is probably not the time to start digging everything up again.
Air cargo spends a lot of time talking about innovation. In Warsaw, for once, it actually felt like you could see it.
Long may it last, and well done TIACA.
Thanks to David Linford, CHAMP Cargosystems, for this video of the conference opening.
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