Kim Rahn is the managing editor of The Korea Times. Since joining the company in 2003, she has covered various beats including the presidential office, Seoul city government, the Bank of Korea and the tourism industry. In 2014, she won the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) award for her coverage of the ordeals of migrant women in Korea.
Air cargo forum to kick off in Incheon in October
By Kim Rahn
Choi Hong-yeol Acting CEO of IIAC
By Kim Rahn
About 3,000 people from the air cargo industry will gather in Seoul next month for an international forum and exhibition, the Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC) said Tuesday.
The 27th Air Cargo Forum & Exposition organized by the International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) will take place at the COEX from Oct. 7-9.
TIACA is a not-for-profit group with 600 members from all segments of the air cargo industry including airlines, airports, forwarders, ground handlers, logistics firms, shippers, aircraft manufacturers and IT companies, with the IIAC being a trustee member.
It holds the biannual forum, the largest global event for the industry, on a different continent each time. It is the first such event that Korea will host, and the first to be held in Asia since 2008.
“The event will offer a good opportunity for air cargo industry people to form networks with their counterparts across the world and have practical business meetings with each other,” Choi Hong-yeol, acting CEO of the IIAC, said.
Under the slogan of “Breaking Barriers, Creating Opportunities,” the participants will discuss diverse challenges the industry is facing.
TIACA Chairman Oliver Evans and Korea’s Transport Minister Suh Seoung-hwan will deliver keynote speeches on the first day of the meeting.
Participants can attend workshops on trends in international air cargo and logistics, more specifically on such topics as customs, security, e-trade and challenges for shippers. There will also be four panel discussions about Korean and Asian markets.
Some 200 companies will take part in the exhibition, including airport operators in Incheon, Singapore, India and the Netherlands, as well as major air freight companies such as SkyTeam members, Emirates Airlines and Turkish Airlines. Admission is free, and participating experts can hold business meetings there.
“This event will help us promote Incheon Airport and Korea’s air cargo market to the global air freight industry,” an official with the IIAC said. “We’ll have marketing activities to increase cargo volume at Incheon and attract investment for a logistics complex here.”
The cargo volume at Incheon Airport has grown 6.2 percent annually since the airport opened in 2001. After some stagnation in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, it rebounded last year. In the first half of this year, Incheon handled 1.24 million tons of cargo, the second-largest amount in the world.
To register, please visit www.acf2014seoul.kr. On-site registration is also available.