When flights are grounded, routes rerouted, or supply chains squeezed, it’s often not the airline but the GSSA behind the scenes keeping cargo moving.
Whether navigating pandemic-era flight cuts, political instability, or airport congestion, General Sales and Service Agents like FlyUs have become the quiet force powering airfreight resilience. With local know-how, digital tools, and fast decision-making, they’re stepping up not just in crises, but in shaping the future of cargo logistics.
“Our immediate responsiveness enables airlines to continue serving their customers, even in volatile conditions,” explained Carlo de Haas, Founder and Managing Director, FlyUs.
“GSSAs ensure this continuity by acting quickly and flexibly, leveraging local teams and their expertise to find the best solution, all the while maintaining communication with forwarders.”
The evolution of digital tools is reinforcing that preparedness. As data sharing and automated systems become more widespread, GSSAs are helping airlines build infrastructure that doesn’t just react to disruption—but can anticipate and outmanoeuvre it.
“FlyUs is developing a proprietary platform designed to deliver 24/7 access to rates and bookings for forwarders, along with full integration with airline systems to enable seamless data exchange,” de Haas said.
“But this digital infrastructure is not only critical during periods of crisis; our focus is on improving our operations when the industry is stable, as well as preparing for potential disruptions and bottlenecks down the line.”
This proactive focus has enabled FlyUs to adopt a layered approach to disruption, using stable times to reinforce systems, train teams, and deepen customer relationships, ensuring the network remains resilient when pressure builds.
Lessons from the pandemic
Few disruptions have tested the sector like the COVID-19 pandemic. As bellyhold capacity vanished almost overnight, airfreight had to recalibrate at speed. For GSSAs, that meant working across airlines and forwarders to redesign networks, routes, and pricing models on the fly.
“FlyUs was highly proactive during this time, managing ‘cargo only’ flights for a number of airline clients,” de Haas shared. “With all flight costs having to be covered purely by cargo revenue, we worked closely with our customers to ensure that cargo generated enough income to meet the minimum revenue thresholds for each flight.”
That precision mattered. Without the buffer of passenger revenue, every kilogram of space had to be utilised, and pricing had to strike a delicate balance. “No space could be wasted, and pricing had to be very carefully controlled,” he added.
While high-level strategy is essential, day-to-day resilience often comes down to the people on the ground. Local knowledge and longstanding relationships remain central to how GSSAs help airlines adapt in real time.
“Local insight is critical; it’s about having feet on the ground, understanding the market, and having strong working relationships with people in the region,” de Haas said.
“FlyUs’s local teams are embedded within their markets, maintaining constant communication with forwarders. They are able to anticipate changes and act fast, which becomes even more valuable when capacity is tight, or demand shifts unexpectedly.”
This proximity to both markets and partners enables GSSAs to serve as early warning systems, alerting carriers to emerging demand or operational risks before they fully materialise.
As the industry looks ahead, the conversation is shifting. Disruption is no longer viewed as a rare occurrence—it’s the baseline.
“Looking forward, GSSAs will play an important role in embedding resilience not just as a crisis response, but as part of everyday operations,” de Haas noted.
