Agents of change… finally an awards ceremony with a clear goal to advance air cargo as ANAMA met in Milano last month. From left : G. Peleggi, I. Russo, M. Marzani, and A. Quaranta.

     A recent issue of FlyingTypers included a report on the Italian freight forwarding association Associazione Nazionale Agenti Merci Aeree (ANAMA), The Association of Italian Freight Forwarders.
     ANAMA was founded in July 1957. This August, the group celebrates 60 years of service. The big story earlier this month was The Quality Awards ANAMA delivered to airlines, individuals, and others at their Annual Meeting in Milan.

Anama Part Deux

     Beyond social and awards activities, ANAMA has an edgy business agenda, which was advanced during the gathering at the AGM in Milan a few weeks ago.
      But with “Quality Award” publicity and hoopla always overshadowing industry gatherings, the ANAMA agenda received short shrift and apparently was overlooked.

Marina Steps Up

      Luckily for all of us, there is President Marina Marzani, who right away took aim at a major issue, stating:
      “We need to examine a few general cargo airports and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure the quality of the Italian airport system.
      “Currently 35 percent of the import/export value of Italy is transported by air.
      “It is a fact that from 2006 to 2016 air cargo grew 18.2 percent.
      “In the same period, containers moved by sea have grown 6.7 percent and rail transport decreased 9.2 percent.
      “During 2016, goods moved by Italian airports grew of 7.4 percent; amazingly, in the first quarter of 2017 goods moved by air grew by 11.7 percent.
      “But despite these rather positive indicators of the air cargo business,” Marina Marzani declares, “Italian aerial gateways are far from reaching the performance of French, German, and Dutch airports.
      “If we consider that air cargo in Italian airports represents only 6 percent of the goods handled in Europe, while in terms of population and GDP our country represents 12.2 percent and 10.7 percent respectively, one can understand that this mode of transport offers huge growth potential,” the ANAMA President insisted.

Italian Transport Minister Speaks

      Ivano Russo, advisor to Italy’s Transport Minister, confirmed that a working group tasked with studying air cargo was created. Its aims were to identify bottlenecks and possible solutions to gain efficiency.
      Mr. Russo said that an official position paper would be published in about a year (by June 2018) summarizing the findings.
      “The aim is to systematize the different modes of transport so as to create a network of technological and infrastructural connections,” Mr. Russo said.

Questions & Answers

      Getting down to business, Marina Marzani pointed out to Mr. Russo and the assemblage some of the proposed solutions ANAMA thinks might help move cargo along faster and more efficiently:
      “Why not support a few general cargo airports, as is the case for other countries?
      “A national steering committee governing and addressing the Italian airport system could be created for Italy.
      “The offshoot of a national steering committee could also include creating similar structures in each airport conducting cargo business,” ANAMA said.
      There were also some easily implemented changes to cargo processes on Ms. Marzani’s bucket list.
      “Why not allow entry of the AWB number and not the truck’s plate in the customs transit document?
      “We should create a mandatory cargo services paper for main cargo airports, measuring the real quality performance of airports and foreseeing solutions (within a set period) when otherwise insufficient data is collected.
      “Moving forward, Italy should create logistic centers close to cargo airports, at market prices (and not at ‘airport’ costs).
      “We should avoid building cathedrals in the desert,” Marina declared.

Customs Not NIMBY

      Giuseppe Peleggi, Director of Customs Agency, declared Italian transportation builders need to overcome “NIMBY behavior” and instead create a better working system (NIMBY stands for Not In My Back Yard).
      “Ports need to be integrated and the same can be done for airports.
      “We need to work together to allow 24-hour operations in our ports and airports,” Mr. Peleggi declared.

Billions In Spending On Tap

      Alessio Quaranta, CEO of Enac, (The Italian Civil Aviation Authority) declared that he has great faith in the aforementioned working group.
      Mr. Quaranta also revealed that airports would invest 140 billion Euros in the coming years to enhance cargo movement at all Italian gateways.
      “This amount might be considered limited, but compared to the past it surely is a step forward,” the Minister assured.
Geoffrey