Atlanta, Amsterdam airports sign collaborative agreement

   Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote cargo trade and investment between metro Atlanta and the Netherlands.
   The MoU, announced at Air Cargo Europe in Munich, will enable an exchange of data between AMS and ATL to facilitate end-to-end planning and capacity optimization, extend the benefits of the AMS Cargo Community system to ATL and boost trade flows between the respective air cargo gateways, according to a press release from AMS.
   “This collaborative agreement will enable us to promote the benefits of strengthening the Netherlands as a gateway to Europe and Atlanta Airport as a gateway to the Atlantic, the Midwest and the South of the USA,” said Bart Pouwels (pictured above), head of cargo at AMS.
   Beginning in September and continuing throughout 2020, AMS and ATL will be working on the formation of the Atlanta Cargo Network, with the aim to increase exports from ATL to AMS of agricultural and manufacturing goods produced in Georgia, which will be measured by an economic impact assessment study due in 2021.
   “This collaboration will allow us to create a mutually beneficial, symbiotic relationship with Schiphol and, by extension, the Netherlands, a nation that has well over a thousand years of history in successful trade experience,” said Elliott Page, director of air service development at Hartsfield-Jackson. 
   The agreement will connect the key cargo operators and logistics providers at AMS and ATL to further strengthen the new trade and logistics corridor and will be supported by Cargonaut, which operates the Cargo Community Information Platform at AMS, the press release said.
   “By working together, we create an internationally connected hub, ensuring a fast and efficient flow of goods by sharing data, optimizing processe and collaborating with our partners based upon agreements,” said Nanne Onland, chief executive officer of Cargonaut.
   ATL is working with Kale Logistics Solutions, a provider of logistics technology solutions, and the air freight community in Atlanta. 
   “Atlanta Airport and the air freight community in Atlanta have started the pioneering work of creating North America’s first next-generation airport cargo community system,” said Amar More, director of Kale Logistics Solutions. “The next-gen platform goes beyond the traditional message exchange systems and aims to integrate the whole air freight supply chain from exporter to importer, thereby creating efficiency, transparency and security in the supply chain. 
   “This community system also has the capability to link to the partner airport communities through digital corridors and illuminate the end-to-end shipment journey,” More said.