Given the rapid changes common to the air cargo industry, airports are now being forced to take both an immediate and more long-term view of air cargo operational issues. Some of these operational issues include the capabilities of air cargo facilities to meet current and future needs, the need for more air cargo infrastructure investment support for users, the provision of new and enhanced cargo processing services and the role of the airport in regional intermodal/multimodal planning and investment. While airports will be affected in varying ways and degrees by current and future changes to the air cargo industry, it is safe to conclude that the magnitude of future changes necessitates more attention on air cargo operational issues.
One of the best ways to emphasize the need to focus on the future is to look at the past decade and consider the significant changes that have had a large impact on airport air cargo operations. Two of the most significant are the rapid growth in the cargo-carrying capacity of airline fleets with the corresponding increase in the number of larger, wide-bodied aircraft in cargo operations and the continuing shift to trucking of domestic air cargo activity.