Airfreight is navigating a year of intense disruption. With trade protectionism, regional conflicts, and fragile consumer sentiment shaping global flows, 2025 demands more than incremental thinking. TIACA’s choice to host its Executive Summit in Hong Kong sends a clear message about where the industry’s centre of gravity is shifting—and where the hard conversations need to happen.

Asia in focus

“We wanted the 2025 Summit to be in Asia as part of the TIACA board’s objective of ensuring our events are held in areas which ensure member accessibility, as well as being in locations which play a crucial role within the global airfreight industry,” said Glyn Hughes, TIACA’s director general. “Hong Kong fits these requirements perfectly, particularly when it comes to being the e-commerce gateway to the world. China accounts for 27 percent of global manufacturing output, and with ‘China plus one’ policies expected to lead to a greater amount of production elsewhere in Asia, it certainly illustrates that the region will be a crucial component of future airfreight industry success.”

The choice is strategic, not symbolic. In an era where logistics resilience and regional diversification are paramount, Hong Kong serves as a real-time laboratory for change. Hughes is clear that the summit is not a networking formality but a focused industry checkpoint.

“We build our agenda around the topics of most relevance to the entire community, so we will focus on e-commerce, digitalisation, airport development, AI, innovation, sustainability, industry trends, and the overall outlook,” he said. “We will have two industry leaders’ roundtable discussions, and as part of TIACA’s commitment to showcase leadership, we will have the finals of our Sustainability Awards, our 2025 Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and two new awards recognising inspirational leadership and a rising star of tomorrow.”

BlueSky: More than a dashboard

A cornerstone of that accountability is TIACA’s BlueSky programme, designed to benchmark and validate companies’ sustainability progress across a wide range of metrics. Yet industry adoption hasn’t been as widespread as expected.

“I have been a little surprised that more companies haven’t signed up for the BlueSky programme, as the feedback we receive from those who have gone through the programme is excellent,” Hughes said. “Not only does it provide a personalised dashboard reflecting how the company is performing across a range of sustainability topics, it also illustrates where they need to focus on going forward.”

The programme’s structure encourages internal reflection, but also collaborative action. “We have just completed the first BlueSky community, led by Air Cargo Belgium and Brussels Airport, which took a group of six leading companies through the programme together. In addition to individual company results, we were also able to highlight areas that were common to many, and this additional guidance will be used by Air Cargo Belgium to provide some new programmes for their members.”

Decarbonisation at a crossroads

When asked whether the sector is progressing fast enough on environmental goals, Hughes didn’t dodge the complexity.

“Overall, I think the airfreight industry is performing well across a number of sustainability topics, although there are a few areas where more needs to be done,” he said. “Reduced waste, including reduction of single-use plastic, is one very positive result of actions taken. Airlines are investing heavily in newer-generation, more fuel-efficient fleets, and forwarders and trucking companies are increasing the number of EVs in their ground fleets. Ground handlers are electrifying GSE, and some are even investigating the use of green hydrogen-based equipment.”

But he cautioned that decarbonisation hinges on more than industry alone. “Airfreight shippers are leading when it comes to committing to purchase sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), but overall there is a lack of SAF available in the market. Therefore, in order to meet the 2025 net zero target, it is crucial that fuel producers, governments, and the investment community look at how they can increase production capability.”

TIACA’s role: Measuring success

TIACA’s position, Hughes emphasised, is not just to observe industry progress but to facilitate it.

“We see the role of TIACA as threefold in this regard,” he said. “Firstly, we seek to work with legislators to help educate them on what the industry is doing and whether proposed changes to legislative requirements are workable. Next, we aim to help educate the industry as to what the regulatory requirements are. And thirdly, we seek to provide tools and practical measures to support the industry in attaining its sustainability goals.”

His one ask to regulators attending the Hong Kong summit? “That they consider incentive programmes to support the investments that are required to address decarbonisation strategies.”

What does success look like for TIACA by the end of 2025? It’s not headline numbers, but relevance.

“For TIACA it’s all about member satisfaction,” Hughes said. “We undertake an annual member survey and adjust our programmes thereafter to ensure we deliver what our members look for from their association.”