IATA and International Post Corporation signed a memorandum of agreement
IATA and the International Post Corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a cross-border air network
On 19 February 2020, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Postal Corporation (IPC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote the development and expansion of a reliable, secure, accessible and high quality air mail and air cargo services, in order to help their respective members provide quality solutions tailored to the consumers needs.
““International e-commerce is growing at around 20% a year”, which means that market conditions for airlines and postal services are changing rapidly. The main priority for Posts and air transport operators is to ensure that customers receive their parcels on time while maintaining the reliability and safety of air postal transport.
Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO said that “Cooperation across the supply chain is essential and our Memorandum of Understanding with IPC is a fundamental step towards strengthening our business in this area”.
IATA and IPC seek to collaborate in seven distinct areas:
- Develop regional integration initiatives and global campaigns on the optimisation and standardisation of airmail processes.
- Improvement of security, transfer and transport of the shipment, as well as the regulation of air mail between postal operators and air carriers. This includes e-commerce and both economic and commercial matters.
- Develop and maintain industry standards and processes as well as services and solutions for physical flows and electronic data exchange related to airmail
- Align existing services and solutions, and develop new ones to ensure seamless compatibility and efficient application of resources.
- Find standards and technology solutions for parcels tracking at the airmail level.
- Address volumetric challenges, through initiatives such as Air Packet Box and Air Mail allocation or booking procedures.
- Improve the involvement of ground handlers and other industry actors in airmail issues.
Holger Winklbauer, CEO of IPC states: “For more than 10 years, cooperation between airlines and postal operators has improved the efficiency of processes and increased the visibility of air transport. With this agreement, we want to further strengthen our ties and identify further opportunities for collaboration and joint developments. Both our sectors can benefit from enhanced collaboration in terms of competitiveness and quality of service.
Ultimately, this agreement will benefit consumers through a more reliable and faster delivery of cross-border mail and parcels transported by air“.
The IPC is a cooperative association of 25 member postal operators from Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America. Its solutions and services are used by more than 180 Posts worldwide.
