Atlanta plans logistics platform supporting trade with the Netherlands

In a deal between two airports to promote international trade, Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International will collaborate with Amsterdam's Airport Schiphol to support cargo trade and investment between metro Atlanta and the Netherlands.

The deal is intended to enable an exchange of data between Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) and Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL) to facilitate end-to-end planning and capacity optimization, extend the benefits of the AMS Cargo Community system to ATL, and boost trade flows between the respective air cargo gateways.

"Hartsfield-Jackson, the busiest and most efficient passenger airport in the world, is looking to expand its cargo footprint," Elliott Paige, Director of Air Service Development for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, said in a release. "This collaboration will allow us to create a mutually beneficial, symbiotic relationship with Schiphol and, by extension, the Netherlands, a nation that has well over a thousand years of history in successful trade experience."

Big News: We are thrilled to announce our collaboration with@Schiphol Airport by signing an MoU to promote cargo trade and investment between @CityOfAtlanta, Georgia and Amsterdam, Netherlands. Get the full story here: https://t.co/hNtFkYYfTi

— Atlanta Airport (@ATLairport) June 5, 2019

From this September through 2020, AMS and ATL will form the Atlanta Cargo Network, with the aim to increase exports from ATL to AMS of agricultural and manufacturing goods produced in Georgia, which will be measured by an economic impact assessment study due in 2021.

"This collaborative agreement will enable us to promote the benefits of strengthening the Netherlands as a gateway to Europe, and Atlanta Airport as a gateway to the Atlantic, the Midwest, and the South of the U.S.A.," Bart Pouwels, Head of Cargo, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, said in a release. "Not only is this good news for Amsterdam Airport Schiphol by expanding our Cargo Community with Atlanta, but it will also benefit the economy of the Netherlands by further establishing Schiphol's Mainport hub role."

The agreement will connect the key cargo operators and logistics providers at AMS and ATL to further strengthen the new trade and logistics corridor, and will be supported by Cargonaut Nederland B.V., a Dutch firm which operates the Cargo Community Information Platform at AMS, supporting information sharing for logistics operations.

ATL is currently working with Kale Logistics Solutions, an Indian firm that provides global logistics technology solutions, and the air freight community in Atlanta to create the next generation of airport cargo community system.

"Atlanta Airport and the air freight community in Atlanta have started the pioneering work of creating North America's first next-generation airport cargo community system," Amar More, Director, Kale Logistics Solutions, said in a release. "The next-gen platform goes beyond the traditional message exchange systems and aims to integrate the whole air freight supply chain from exporter to importer, thereby creating efficiency, transparency, and security in the supply chain. This community system also has the capability to link to the partner airport communities through digital corridors and illuminate the end-to-end shipment journey."