OECD: AIR CARGO MEETINGS WERE SUCCESSFUL

OECD: AIR CARGO MEETINGS WERE SUCCESSFUL    Shippers, airlines, forwarders and government officials made progress at meetings in Paris last week to develop a plan for liberalizing the global air cargo market, an official at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development told American Shipper on Friday.
   “We received very firm support from all segments of the industry that we should continue this work,” the OECD official said.
   The OECD held the meetings as a follow up to industry workshops held last year. Attendees included representatives from the European Air Shippers Council, Air France, Lufthansa German Airlines, major forwarders and 20 national governments.
   Participants agreed to form informal working groups aimed at establishing protocol for reaching a range of air cargo liberalization targets. One group will develop a model that countries could follow to separate air cargo from bilateral aviation negotiations focused on passenger rights. Another group is working to develop a document establishing procedures that would allow nations to move toward a multilateral approach to deregulating the air cargo industry, including rules governing both air carriers and ground-based service providers.
   The industry participants will meet again with the OECD in six to nine months to approve the texts and to decide further action.