Today at Air Cargo Europe in Munich, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) intended to increase cooperation and trade between the two air cargo gateways.
Beginning in September of this year and continuing through 2020, AMS and ATL will work to create the Atlanta Cargo Network, intended to “increase exports from ATL to AMS of agricultural and manufacturing goods produced in Georgia, which will be measured by an economic impact assessment study due in 2021,” the airports said in a statement.
The MoU is also expected to increase connectivity and cooperation between the hub airports by connecting the cargo operators and logistics providers at AMS and ATL utilizing Cargonaut, a Netherlands-based cargo community service provider that operates the Cargo Community Information Platform at AMS. Cargonaut CEO Nanne Onland said, “By working together, we create an internationally connected hub, ensuring a fast and efficient flow of goods by sharing data, optimizing processes, and collaborating with our partners based upon agreements.”
Cargonaut last year partnered with Indian logistics software provider Kale Logistics Solutions to create a digital airfreight corridor between the countries. ATL is likewise working with Kale Logistics to build up an Atlanta cargo community. While the cargo community idea has taken off at some airports in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, as reported by our sister publication Cargo Facts, airports in the United States have been slower to adopt the cooperative approach that requires direct competition with competitors at an airport.
Regarding ATL’s efforts promoted by the MoU, Amar More, Director, Kale Logistics, said, “Atlanta Airport and the air freight community in Atlanta have started the pioneering work of creating North America’s first next-generation airport cargo community system.” He added, “The next-gen platform goes beyond the traditional message exchange systems and aims to integrate the whole airfreight supply chain from exporter to importer, thereby creating efficiency, transparency and security in the supply chain.”