The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) will work with the Indonesian National Air Carriers Association (INACA) and other leading freight companies in Indonesia, including flag carrier, PT Garuda Indonesia Tbk., to support the region’s growing air freight industry.

TIACA Secretary General Vladimir Zubkov was joined by Boyke Soebroto, Chairman of Cargo Flights at INACA, and Sigit Muhartono, Director of Cargo, PT Garuda Indonesia Tbk., at the inaugural Indonesia Air Cargo Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia to pledge their cooperation

They made the announcement at the start of the two-day summit (17 - 18 May 2017), which brings together over 200 industry leaders to explore opportunities and the latest trends and challenges in Indonesia.

“Indonesia has a vibrant and developing air cargo community and we will be working closely with the industry here to bring TIACA expertise and training to support that growth,” said Zubkov.

“TIACA is focused on growing membership in the region and we are pleased to meet with our colleagues here to find ways of reaching out to the growing air cargo community here.

“We are focused on helping the industry to improve and have a number of initiatives around quality and e-freight which we will be sharing with our colleagues here in Indonesia.”

Zubkov is one of 20 industry leaders sharing insight and expertise at the summit, exploring a range of topics including new growth opportunities in the region, improving processes through the use of smart data, and the future of unmanned cargo aircraft, as well as creating world class air cargo hubs and updates on the latest security legislation.

“There is a huge opportunity for Garuda to grow its cargo business and we are enhancing our company’s cargo channel distributions,” said Muhartono, who is to speak about new opportunities for air cargo in Indonesia.

“We are honoured to support this event and we feel that it would be a great opportunity for us to meet with both domestic and international strategic partners and network with key decision makers at Air Cargo Summit Indonesia 2017.

“We look forward to collaborating both with industry members that share the same vision regarding operational excellence, particularly in terms of reliability and quality, and also, and importantly, work with TIACA to build this industry.”

Soebroto, who is working closely with TIACA on developing membership in the region and also as President and Chief Executive Officer of Cardig Air, said it was an honour to be hosting the summit and working with TIACA.

“We hope that this would be the start of many successful partnerships and cooperation for the ASEAN air cargo sector,” he said.

Indonesia is South East Asia’s largest economy and the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by around 5.6 per cent in 2016, according to the Indonesia Freight Transport Report, published by global research house BMI Research.

As one of the South East Asia’s largest economy, Indonesia has a promising future for its air cargo & logistics industry with key industry players actively pursuing cargo opportunities through freighter and belly cargo businesses.

The country saw its air freight sector grow by around 3.5 percent in 2016, compared to 1.75 percent in 2015, thanks to increased consumer demand for imported goods.