While air cargo digitalization has accelerated dramatically since the COVID-19 pandemic, it is still ranked as low to mid-tier in digital transformation maturity when compared to other industries such as retail and manufacturing or passenger aviation.

Why is it that what travels in the lower deck of an aircraft is subject to a less-developed digital landscape than the passengers travelling in the main deck of the same plane? As passengers, we take the access to online booking platforms and apps showing us our boarding card and real-time flight details, for granted. But then, there are very few interfaces involved in the issuance and management of a passenger ticket, and processes around passengers, their luggage and potential inflight food preferences, are very similar across all airlines.

Not so, in the air cargo industry. Unlike passenger aviation, where one person can be allocated to one seat, air freight is complex. An aircraft hold is limited in its cargo capacity – both in weight and volume – and neither factor remains constant since passenger baggage volumes, weather or extra fuel requirements can further limit the space available for cargo. Whereas the size and space taken up by a single seat in an aircraft remains constant, cargo shipments come in all shapes, sizes, weights, and commodities, and the mix on each flight is always different in terms of total weight and volume usage. Some commodities require special handling to keep them fresh, secure, or cool, for example, and not all are compatible with each other. There may also be other constraints (such as temperature management in the hold or weight and balance restrictions) dictating how and where they can be loaded in the aircraft. Every shipment then comes with a varying number of documents depending on its commodity type and the customs regulations applicable to its origin and destination countries. A single shipment can be accompanied by more than 30 documents – not all of which have been digitalized to date or can be accepted digitally because of national regulations.

In short, both demand in terms of shipment bookings, and supply of capacity per flight, are dynamic. All of the factors mentioned make air cargo far more complex than other industries. And the efforts needed to develop digital solutions that are specific to air cargo are very high, for a much lower return compared to the passenger business, as air cargo revenue only accounts for 15% of total worldwide airline industry revenue. Yet, cargo is the business that can generate the profits for airlines – a fact that became very clear during the pandemic, and which boosted investment in air cargo digitalization.

Unique challenges impacting change

In addition to the almost unlimited variations in shipment specifics, the air cargo industry grapples with another unique complexity – its ecosystem. This spans airlines, GSAs, forwarders, ground handlers, airports and customs brokers, creating a web of often manual handoffs prone to errors and delays. In a world where aircraft slots dictate the amount of handling time available to prepare cargo for a flight, inefficiencies and errors can have serious consequences. Yet, paper documents still dominate in many regions, despite e-AWB adoption hitting nearly 90% globally by late 2025. Going fully paperless remains difficult due to a myriad mix of legacy systems and regulatory silos.

Not just regulatory silos but also regulatory hurdles amplify these challenges: dangerous goods require immediate compliance checks – something that is absent in less stringent trucking operations for example. Perishables require sensors for temperature tracking, prioritizing precision over the volume focus of ocean shipping. These factors are why air cargo lags behind passenger operations in terms of seamless apps. Yet, post-pandemic urgency has sparked innovation.

Standout technologies are reshaping operations

IATA's ONE Record is a standardized data model giving all involved air cargo stakeholders a single shipment view and has seen excellent results in those countries and companies adopting it. The aim was for all IATA members to achieve ONE Record capability by January 2026. By December 2025, nearly 50% of the industry reported readiness, with over 70% awareness. There is still some way to go until the entire industry uses ONE Record. While IATA estimates that full ONE Record could unlock USD 4 billion in efficiencies, there are still challenging gaps – only 20% of small forwarders are fully digital. There remains resistance from legacy players and varying regulations slow universal standards.

On the other hand, AI and machine learning are already being applied to predict capacity and optimize loads, and IoT enables real-time tracking via smart tags. CargoTech, the one-stop-tech-shop, with its software expert members, removes the complexity of digital transformation and instead offers a tailored suite of solutions from quoting to booking, pricing, demand and capacity forecasting, planning, loading, and reporting across all commercial air cargo processes – areas that demand far greater development precision than solutions such as ONE Record that simply seek to improve efficiency, transparency, and increase productivity. CargoTech members are cargo experts and are tackling the specific pain points of the air cargo business: they offer 16 cutting-edge and pioneering digital solutions and services developed by cargo experts for the cargo industry, that address these challenging, dynamic processes. Their solutions are modular, ‘plug and play’ decision support systems that complement the legacy ecosystems and immediately alleviate the respective pain points.

Progress is happening

The original pandemic catalyst has now shifted to change being driven by rising e-commerce. It requires more detailed shipment information, influences innovation in tracking transparency and sustainable operations, and triggers safety initiatives such as automated lithium battery checks. And momentum is building in other areas: AI for predictive maintenance and robotics in warehousing promise further gains. One of CargoTech’s members, AERIOS, has taken on digital solutions for cargo charter operations – a niche previously overlooked due to its complexity and non-standard processes.

The highly fragmented nature of the air cargo industry’s operations, the reluctance of some companies to invest in its digital transformation (and instead perfect passenger operations), the reliance on aging and manifold technical solutions until recently, and the very different governmental regulations and product requirements have all been factors slowing the air cargo industry’s progress down to date. Yet even this complex landscape is moving towards a more digital future. And CargoTech is on hand to advise, support and accelerate this change across the air cargo industry, bringing the benefits of vanguard solutions that address its specific complexity.