Member Engagement
reinstatement of the telephone number 01233 648340 for members to contact for support. They updated the latest situation regarding African Swine fever and also reminded Members of the fact that there can be differences between EU and GB requirements, citing assimilated regulation 2019/1793 as an example. Dover Port Health also updated Members on latest activities, stating that there was little change to report. Denise Hill reminded Members of the availability of e-learning bite- size modules which are an inclusive benefit of the membership fee, and encouraged the management of contact details so that any Member employee can access this and all other information on the BIFA portal. Midlands – 14 January 2025 In January, Birmingham Airport (BHX) kindly hosted the first regional meeting of the New Year for Members in the Midlands. As well as the usual industry- wide updates, Members heard from guest speaker Adam Parker, senior aviation manager for cargo, who explained the increase in freighter options from the airport. The last 12 months has seen a huge volume increase through BHX, in part due to some flights rescheduled from Heathrow for a variety of reasons, but also the ever-increasing growth in e-commerce trade. Last year, the airport moved 55,000 tonnes of cargo, which represented a 131% increase for the airport, year-on-year. With its regular services from Air India, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Saudi and Turkish Airlines, BHX can provide alternative freight options to long- haul destinations. The whole meeting and Adam’s hosting gave the Members present the opportunity to connect with the airport and consider it as an alternative for regional cargo. Andrew Melton, regional consultant, said: “Hosting the event at the airport clearly proved an attraction to our Members and we look forward to working more closely with the airport and connecting more of our Members in the future.”
The Kent & East Sussex meeting
BIFA’s member engagement team hit the ground running as the New Year began, holding Regional Member meetings in the Kent & East Sussex and Midlands regions Kick-starting 2025
Kent & East Sussex meeting – 8 January 2025 For this meeting, Ashford Borough Council kindly offered the use of the council chamber room which provided a unique atmosphere and surroundings for the 50+ members in attendance. We were joined by Border Force’s Freight Engagement and Data Acquisition (FEDAT) team who discussed safety and security data compliance. This information is already monitored for rest of the world traffic but from 31 January 2025 this activity is extended to EU traffic. Safety and security declarations are a critical part of Border Force’s frontier risk assessment. Many questions were raised by
Members, and it was reiterated that it is the operator of the active means of transport on or in which the goods are brought in to the Customs territory that is legally responsible to submit the declaration. It was also confirmed that there is no link to CDS but many software houses as well as CSPs have the systems and connectivity in place to aid the submission of the declaration. The FEDAT team encouraged Members to ensure that the data submitted is complete and precise, for example, by making sure a description is accurate by stating brake pads rather than auto parts. Ashford Port Health provided an update on its latest activity, including the successful
“ It was reiterated that it is the operator of the active means of transport on or in which goods are brought in to the Customs territory that is legally responsible to submit the declaration
The Midlands meeting
24 | February 2025
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