News

  • Turhan Özen made the most of today’s virtual opportunities.

19.02.2021 By: Andreas Haug


Artikel Nummer: 35277

Putting on a great show

Iata’s World Cargo Symposium, first scheduled for Istanbul in March 2020, has again been postponed (to October this year). Turkish Cargo has filled the gap by introducing a new event format. On 10 February it addressed today’s hot topics in its ‘Cargo Talk’.




Turkish Cargo’s latest digital conference, with its “cool 3D stage and interactive on-air events”, as presenter Sam Chui, aviation and travel blogger, said, included an interactive game and a quiz. The first required participants to collect syringes whilst negotiating a course littered with obstacles; in the latter, participants could win business class tickets. This was the glittering framework for Turkish Cargo’s ‘Cargo Talk’ – which naturally also offered high-level discussions. (Scan the p+ above with the ITJ app to watch the video.)


Mehmet Ilker Aycı, the chairman of the board and of the executive committee of Turkish Airlines, got the ball rolling with a talk on the forthcoming integration of Turkish Cargo into a new legal freight enti­ty, wholly owned by Turkish Airlines (see also page 7 of ITJ 49-52 / 2020). Turhan Özen, the airline’s chief cargo offi­cer, then introduced his audience to the huge dimensions of the carrier’s new airfreight terminal. ‘Smartist’ – the world’s largest industrial building – is due to be opened in spring. It covers 340,000 m2 and can ­handle 4 million t of freight a year.


2020, Özen added, showed us the key importance of flexibility and agility. In March the first of Turkish Cargo’s 2,900 preighter flights took off. The airline continues to ope­rate the most extensive network worldwide, including 96 full-freighter destinations.

 


The near and distant future
The event welcomed industry experts from every corner of the globe; they also gave their take on strategies for digitalisation, and the extent to which Turkish Cargo has made further advances in the field. ­Another discussion, addressing “The future of airfreight” looked far beyond Covid-19 to the years 2030 – 2050. Seabury managing director Marco Bloemen said he’s convinced this crisis will have a long-term effect. Ceva’s chief airfreight operating officer, Peter ­Penseel, doesn’t believe the aviation industry’s lost passengers will come flooding back. New answers will have to be found.


This was a good virtual event, all in all – but we’re looking forward to meeting up in person again in Istanbul on 12 – 14 October, for the twice-postponed World Cargo Symposium.