Forwarder’s Forum: Congress must address worsening airport congestion

To fund its agencies, the U.S. government uses legislation to authorize its activities and programs, giving them the legal power to operate and exist. Authorization bills can create or modify programs for a limited period or make them permanent without expiration. For example, the last authorization bill for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was signed into law in October 2018 and expires later in 2023, setting the stage for congress to enact several critical future initiatives, including a crucial fix for air cargo stakeholders, hopefully. The air cargo industry has seen steadily increasing volumes over the past decade, challenging the capacity and ability of airport facilities and industry stakeholders throughout the logistics chain to process cargo efficiently. Swelling consumer demand, primarily spurred by e-commerce shipments during the pandemic, exacerbated this challenge. Ocean shippers struggling to meet demand and seeking refuge from seaport bottlenecks turned to airfreight, overwhelming gateway airports. The resulting chaos caused excessive truck waiting times as ground handlers struggled to process the surge of shipments arriving on freighter flights. Addressing gateway congestion, delays [caption id="attachment_57133878" align="alignright" width="400"] Brandon Fried, executive director of the Air Forwarders Association (Photo/Brandon Fried)[/caption] The pandemic, thankfully for most, is subsiding, but despite airfreight volumes descending back to normal levels, forwarders still report significant truck congestion at several cargo gateways. In a recent survey, forwarders joined airlines, airports, trucking companies, and industry vendors in identifying several possible reasons. Stakeholders point to several perceived causes, including insufficient facilities and infrastructure, lacking technology and automation, inadequate staffing, customer service issues, and policy and regulation concerns. As lawmakers craft the next FAA bill, we should expect significant changes in the U.S. commercial air system. Recent delays, cancellations, and service failures stranded thousands of passengers and freight over the recent holiday, so we should anticipate provisions for increased passenger rights and transparency in the complaint process when the airline is at fault. While the causes for these recent delays may focus on outdated or insufficient automation, airlines point to a lack of pilots as a significant culprit. Pilot unions and air crash victims’ groups disagree but we can expect lawmakers to deal with the thorny issue of requiring that those pilots in the cockpit have at least 1,500 hours of training before flying. Drone groups, including those looking to transport air cargo using crewless flying vehicles, may see a framework in the legislation easing current operational restrictions. The same could happen for the burgeoning air taxi industry, which struggles with aircraft certification, airport infrastructure concerns, and integration into the national airspace. A $5B problem Freight forwarding trade groups, including the U.S. Airforwarders Association and the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, assert that the current airport congestion issue is resolvable but will need approximately $3 billion to $5 billion in funding to accomplish recommended solutions. These include: Provide direct public sector financial support to development initiatives; Develop and introduce a universal digital electronic application; Review and upgrade compensation; Institute an industrywide training program; Modernize the secured identification display area badging process; and Implement consistent policy interpretation and reinforcement. Although funding for various airport functions is included in the recent Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in 2022, no funds were earmarked explicitly for air cargo area improvement. The reality is that given the revenue shortfalls of the past few years, the relatively small $25 billion resource allocation will be on passenger accommodation, safety, and security. According to International Air Transport Association, airlines transport over 52 million metric tons of goods annually, representing more than 35% of global trade by value but less than 1% by volume. That is equivalent to $6.8 trillion of goods annually, or $18.6 billion worth of goods every day. This value translates to thousands of jobs throughout the logistics chain. However, as we look to the future, the viability of this essential element of the logistics chain is struggling to cope with the changes it faces. The price of inaction If we do not act, we will see further delays in shipping time-sensitive products — for example, the COVID-19 vaccine. Inaction will also create escalating costs for the modernization of airport facilities and infrastructure, policy disincentives for private investment, adverse impacts to the economy, negative impact on federal staffing and budgets, higher costs to all elements of the logistics chain from shipper to buyer, and increasingly adverse environmental effects. U.S. Congress can address this shortfall by using the upcoming FAA reauthorization legislation to provide the necessary funds to address the airport cargo congestion struggle.

Forwarder’s Forum: Congress must address worsening airport congestion

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