ABSTRACT
The transport of goods by air originated in November 1910, when Philip Orin Parmelee piloted a Wright Model B aircraft a total of 65 miles to transport a consignment of silk from Dayton to Columbus, Ohio. By 1919, the Paris Convention had created the first international regulatory framework concerning the transport of air passengers and cargo, and established for the first time a legal contract between the customer and an airline for the transport of goods by air. Since then the role of the air cargo industry as a facilitator of world trade, employment and economic growth has grown such that in 2015, airlines transported 51.2 million metric tonnes of cargo valued at over US$6 trillion (£4.6 trillion) globally (Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), 2016). This equates to 185 billion freight tonne kilometers (FTKs) per year, where 1 FTK is considered to represent 1 tonne of freight transported 1km. While air cargo represents around 35 percent of world trade by total value, in terms of total volume the contribution of air cargo is considerably smaller, at less than 0.5 percent (ATAG, 2016). This is because while air cargo is generally faster and more reliable than transport by road, rail or sea, these benefits come at a financial cost to the customer. Consequently, goods transported by air are generally restricted to those that are time critical and have a high value-to-weight ratio. Examples of such commodities include high-value consumer electronic products, ‘just-in-time’ industrial components, perishable goods such as fruit and vegetables, as well as items such as express mail, humanitarian aid or medical supplies. For industries where streamlined global production and reliable on-time delivery of goods and components is key, air transport represents a fundamental component of the global supply chain. The air cargo industry also plays a vital role in terms of employment and growth. This is true both for the direct employment it generates, in roles such as handlers, forwarders and customs officials, but also the myriad of associated indirect and induced jobs it helps support in related industries and business areas. This is particularly significant for regions that rely heavily on exporting goods such as fresh produce or flowers, many of which are located in the developing world. For example, it is estimated that 1.5 million livelihoods in Africa are supported by exports to the UK market alone (ATAG, 2016).
