Young Forwarder Network
The YFN event in Manchester
Airfreight takes centre stage at two YFN events
place. On this occasion we had the privilege of attending a behind- the-scenes tour organised by Emirates cargo sales manager Justin Hanson. BIFA training & development manager Graeme Wilkinson reports on the event. Upon arrival at dnata City, LHR, Justin provided us with a comprehensive presentation on how Emirates operates within the realm of international trade. Justin elaborated on the variety of flights, services, aircraft types,and the numerous commodities shipped globally. After the presentation, we boarded a tour bus that first took us to the security channel at Terminal 2. We presented our passports, had our IDs checked, and our personal belongings scanned. Once through security, we went airside and continued our tour, navigating in and out of the aircraft stands until we reached Stand C34. There, we had the remarkable opportunity to see one of Emirates’ Airbus A380s up close. Witnessing the aircraft during the unloading process was incredible, and we were even allowed to board the flight and stand by the cargo holds. Justin and the Emirates ground staff gave us an in-depth explanation of how cargo
Two Young Forwarder Network events took place on the same July day in Manchester and Heathrow with a focus on airfreight
“ The last two speakers in the northwest have cargo and airfreight, which were the two top requests from this group for 2024... – Carl Hobbis, BIFA featured crime in
Manchester – IAG Cargo In the northwest region IAG Cargo, the handling division of International Airlines Group, which includes airlines such as British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus, joined members of the YFN. Guest speakers Jacqui Brohi, Andy McArdle and Victoria Hall from the commercial team gave an overview of the group, such as the fleet, equipment, services and network. They also discussed the challenges from their perspective and how they work with BIFA Members to make the services provided as smooth as possible. As it was a YFN event, they also brought along Birajith Baskaran, a graduate working in their team, who explained his perspective as someone young joining the aviation industry. He spoke about
the various products being moved, including some very unusual ones, and covered sustainability, highlighting some of the different ways the group is working towards its target to achieve net-zero by 2050. Carl Hobbis, member services director, BIFA, said: “The last two speakers in the northwest have featured crime in cargo and airfreight, which were the two top requests from this group for 2024, which is how the YFN works, a bottom-up approach whereby the young people tell us what they would like to know more about, and we put on the events for them.” Heathrow – Emirates On the same day an exclusive event for YFN committee Members and BIFA Awards finalists took
22 | September 2024
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