The new IATA FIATA Air Cargo Program (IFACP) has been launched in Canada.
The new program, which will be rolled out globally following the Canadian pilot, replaces the existing Cargo Agency Program, and will be jointly managed by forwarders and airlines as equal partners in the decision-making process.
A new IATA-FIATA Governance Board (IFGB) has been established to run the program, which provides a framework of industry standards that are relevant and in line with best practices and safety regulations.
Existing Cargo Agency Program members will join IFACP with no further assessment and will continue their existing enrollment in Cargo Account Settlement Systems (CASS), which remains unchanged, under the jurisdiction of the Cargo Agency Conference.
The new IFACP Freight Forwarder Agreement shall govern the relationship between freight forwarders and air carriers participating in the program.
"Simplifying the governance structure reduces the administrative requirement to manage the program," said Juan Antonio Rodriguez, IATA Director FDS Operations. "Given that more than 80 percent of transactions are performed by freight forwarders acting as principals, the proposed IFACP better clarifies and validates the business through a buyer-seller relationship.»
IFACP properly addresses the principal-to-principal relationship between freight forwarders and airlines, helping to clarify liability issues on cargo claims, as well as supporting members to work towards key industry goals such as e-freight adoption, he concluded.
During the roll out, current participants of the IATA Cargo Agency/Intermediary Program will be provided with a new agreement and will automatically join IFACP and continue their existing enrollment in CASS once they have signed and returned the paperwork…
