Two top-class specialised events for the aviation sector were held at Vienna Airport from 22-24 October 2024 – the second Vienna Cargo Day and the FlyPharma Conference. About 300 guests from the air cargo and pharmaceutical industries listened to the inspiring lectures and panel discussions. The focal points of the events were artificial intelligence and global market developments and innovations for air cargo and pharmaceutical handling. A special programme highlight was the exclusive tour of the state-of-the-art Pharma Handling Center of the airport, offering an insight into the specific requirements for the storage and transport of pharmaceutical products. Both events took place at the state-of-the-art Vienna Airport Conference & Innovation Center, located in Office Park 4 at Vienna Airport.

Following the success of the first Vienna Cargo Day last year, this year’s event and FlyPharma attracted approx. 300 guests from the aviation sector, a new record number of participants. This success underlines the growing interest in and relevance of Vienna Airport as a central cargo hub in Europe. The combination of top-notch specialist lectures, stimulating discussions and exclusive insights into the infrastructure of Vienna Airport offered an ideal platform for networking and knowledge transfer focusing on future trends in cargo handling.

Challenges and opportunities in the sector

In addition to the digitalisation of cargo handling and sustainable logistics solutions, the issue of artificial intelligence in supply chain management is one of the top trends in the aviation sector at present. Consequently, participants attending the Vienna Day Cargo were given a comprehensive overview of potential applications for AI, but also about its impacts on efficiency and innovation. The highlights included lectures by experts such as Glyn Hughes, Director General of TIACA, Sebastian Kummer from the University of Vienna and Sam Okpro from Pro Air Consulting. Moreover, a round of discussions was held on market development and economic forecasts of the global air cargo industry, offering participants further impetus for talks and meetings, an exchange of experiences and the chance to make new contacts. Exclusive insights about the positive cargo and route development as well as future perspectives on Vienna as a cargo location rounded the day off. After a short welcome by Ralph Rösener, Manager of Cargo Business Development of the Vienna Airport operating company Flughafen Wien AG, Günther Ofner, Joint CEO and CFO of Flughafen Wien AG emphasized the importance of the airport as an international flight hub. Afterwards the guests were also given information about the current development and plans of Vienna Airport as a cargo location.

Exciting insight

On 23-24 October 2024, the focus was completely on the field of pharmaceutical logistics and supply chains. Visitors to FlyPharma experienced two days full of ideas and impetus on market trends, innovations, the latest legal requirements, security technologies and promoting cooperation among different players. Experts such as Vatsala Sadasivan from Sanofi, Andre Majeres from IATA and Mark van Bakel from DHL Global Forwarding provided interesting insights. The Vienna Airport Pharma Handling Center (VPHC) is the airport’s own competence centre for handling temperature-sensitive air cargo. Additionally, an exclusive tour of the Vienna Airport’s Pharma Handling Center was offered.

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