On March 1-2, Miami-Dade Aviation Department (MDAD) officials joined dozens of representatives from the local air cargo industry at the inaugural Cargo Technology and Data Quality Mini Conference, hosted by Cargo Network Services Corp. (CNS) at the company’s Miami headquarters. CNS is a wholly owned subsidiary of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), responsible for the development and distribution of programs and services to air cargo providers, to help them achieve their respective business strategies.
MDAD Chief of Staff Joseph Napoli opened the Mini Conference on March 1 with welcome remarks, and MDAD Manager of Aviation Trade and Logistics Emir Pineda moderated an e-perspective panel for freight forwarders on March 2. The event provided a platform for professionals to learn the latest e-cargo best practices and developments, such as the industry’s transition to the e-Air Waybill (e-AWB) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s upcoming implementation of mandatory electronic export via the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) program in 2017.
Through a partnership with IATA, MIA became one of the first six U.S. cargo hub airports in 2016 to launch the e-AWB 360 campaign – a global effort to eliminate printing costs, replace manual data entry with a more efficient and reliable digital system, and pave the way toward a completely e-freight cargo industry. MDAD officials hosted MIA’s first e-Air Waybill (e-AWB) workshop in August for nearly 180 local cargo shippers and airline representatives, with the goal of making air cargo logistics at MIA virtually paperless.
MDAD also hosted joint seminars last year with CBP, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to inform local shippers about the upcoming ACE Program - an automated, paperless reporting and admissibility system that streamlines the documentation of U.S. trade. ACE will become the primary system for the international trade community to report imports and exports, and will be used by the U.S. government to determine admissibility of all goods as well.
“MIA continues to be the busiest U.S. airport for international freight and among the 10 busiest in the world,” said Miami-Dade Aviation Director Emilio T. González. “To maintain our position as an industry leader and to remain on the forefront of innovation, MDAD has dedicated significant resources to cargo infrastructure improvements and training opportunities such as the CNS Mini Conference.”
