Joint Cathay Cargo, GLS Team Wins Jettainer ULD Challenge

A joint team from Cathay Cargo and Global Logistics System (GLS) has won the Jettainer ULD Challenge at the IATA ONE Record Hackathon, held April 24-26 at Cathay City in Hong Kong.

The team earned the award for developing a solution to track cool passive pallets and monitor whether temperature-sensitive shipments remain within required conditions throughout the transport chain.

The Jettainer challenge asked participants to address how the storage and handling of cool passive pallets can remain within the correct temperature range. The issue is increasingly important as global demand grows for temperature-sensitive air freight, where consistent handling conditions are critical to product integrity and safety.

The winning team built a tracking device and analytics platform designed to provide real-time pallet monitoring, ONE Record integration and shipment-level insights. The device includes sensors for temperature, humidity, light intensity and vibration, along with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS connectivity to support real-time data transmission.

Jettainer said the solution enables continuous monitoring and helps ensure compliance with defined exposure limits.

“This is the second time we have participated in the hackathon with a ULD Challenge, and we continue to be impressed by the creativity of the competing teams,” said Dr. Jan Wilhelm Breithaupt, CEO of Jettainer. “Among many strong concept ideas, the Cathay Cargo and GLS team stood out and is a well-deserved winner.”

Breithaupt said Jettainer sees potential to combine ONE Record with IoT tracking tools to further enhance ULD management services and provide added value to customers.