Airforwarders Association ramps up efforts to tackle ‘crumbling infrastructure’
24 / 03 / 2023
Photo: Jaromir Chalabala/ Shutterstock
The US Airforwarders Association (AfA) has appointed a senior lobbyist as it ramps up efforts to tackle “crumbling” air cargo infrastructure.
Michael Taylor, managing partner, Diakon Partners, has been given the task of maintaining pressure on US congress to make urgent investments.
Taylor will represent the interests and concerns of both AfA and the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA).
He has been set three key objectives; the education of key Members of Congress about the economic importance of air cargo, the critical need for investment in air cargo at US airports, recommended actions and the costs of inaction.
Taylor will also campaign to gain support from members of congress sitting on the appropriations committees to be champions in support of the effort to relieve airport cargo area congestion.
AfA executive director Brandon Fried said: “AfA’s engagement of Michael Taylor in this critical role will greatly enhance our efforts to convince members of Congress of the urgent need to strengthen US air cargo, to enable it to thrive as the critical link it is in the global supply chain and to protect the many thousands of jobs it creates.
“Both AfA and the NCBFAA set up the Congestion Committee in 2022 to conduct an inquiry and its findings were conclusive that investment in air cargo infrastructure at federal level across the US was vital.
“Over the past decade, one of the primary financial mainstays of the aviation industry has been air cargo: this has never been more clear than in the face of the Covid pandemic.
“Having sustained the aviation industry and, in large measure, regional economies and the morale of the population, both AfA and NCBFAA members are reliant on investment if air cargo infrastructure is to be able to support the demands of the sector for the future.”
Taylor has more than 30 years of government and public affairs experience at the international, federal, state, and local levels, along with more than 15 years of experience in multimodal transportation policy.
Last year, the AfA and NCBFAA called for a State or Federal-backed ‘Air Cargo Support Fund’ to tackle the infrastructural crisis facing the US air cargo industry.
The recommendations form part of a whitepaper following a major national survey of 400 air cargo stakeholders in the public and private sectors undertaken by the organisations, identifying the critical issues and the airports where the challenges are greatest.
Airforwarders Association calls for urgent investment in air cargo at US airports
