Cargo in the dark: Closing the air freight visibility gap

At origin warehouses and destination aprons, visibility is not the problem. Shipments are scanned, logged, and tracked within tightly controlled systems. The breakdown begins once cargo leaves these environments. As shipments move across ramps, terminals, and aircraft under intense time pressure, physical flows remain efficient, but data does not follow.

This is not a technology failure. It is a systems failure.

Air cargo does not lack tracking tools. It lacks a shared data layer. Airlines, ground handlers, freight forwarders, and equipment providers all generate data, but rarely in a format that can be exchanged in real time. Each stakeholder sees a part of the journey. No one sees the whole.

The industry has recognised this gap. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is pushing toward a common data standard through its ONE Record programme, designed to replace fragmented messaging with a single, interoperable data model. The objective is clear: a shared, real-time view of cargo across the entire supply chain.

But adoption remains uneven. The industry is still far from achieving true data continuity. Standardisation exists on paper faster than it does in operations. Nowhere is this more visible than at handoffs.

Handoffs are often where visibility breaks down the most
Amir Khoshniyati, Wiliot

Every transition, from truck to terminal, terminal to ramp, or between connecting flights, creates a break in both custody and data. Responsibility shifts between stakeholders, but data continuity rarely follows.

“Most supply chain systems are built around limited data points, rather than a continuous understanding of what’s happening as goods move. As supply chains become faster and more complex, even small gaps in visibility can lead to missed issues or delayed responses,” says Amir Khoshniyati, VP Strategy, Channel & Marketing at Wiliot.

“Handoffs are often where visibility breaks down the most. Once a shipment leaves one location and before it’s received at the next, there’s typically very limited insight into its status,” he adds.

Airlines are responding, but progress is uneven, with Lufthansa Cargo, Qatar Airways Cargo, Emirates SkyCargo, and Cathay Cargo advancing ONE Record efforts, but real-time data exchange remains inconsistent.

At the same time, the industry is rethinking the role of physical assets in the visibility chain. ULDs, long treated as passive equipment, are being turned into connected data points.

“For years, ULD management has been one of the least visible parts of the air cargo chain. Aircraft are tracked in real time, but the assets actually carrying the cargo, the ULDs, often disappear from view the moment they leave an aircraft or warehouse,” says Harold Elfring, Director of Technology at ACL Airshop.

“That’s what IoT is fixing in a practical way, providing near real-time visibility over where the ULD is and which stakeholder it is currently with. This is key to planning, preventing shortages and imbalances, and ensuring the right ULD is available at the right place and time.”

Unilode Aviation Solutions has deployed Bluetooth Low Energy tracking across its ULD fleet, while collaborations between SkyCell and ACL Airshop are extending IoT-enabled visibility across operations.

These developments matter because visibility cannot rely solely on system integration if the assets themselves are not connected. By turning ULDs into data carriers, the industry is beginning to close the gap between physical movement and digital awareness.

Elfring describes a shift toward continuous operational awareness. “IoT enables a move toward a living inventory model, where ULD positions and statuses are continuously updated in real time. This reduces dependency on manual reporting and removes delays caused by legacy communication methods.”

The real value of IoT lies in the actions it enables, not just the data it produces

Harold Elfring, ACL Airshop

He adds that ULDs occupy a unique position in the network. “The ULD is the only asset moving through all nodes of the air cargo chain. It is on the aircraft, ramp, warehouse, trucks, and repair stations. With IoT, it can generate data that helps reduce turnaround times and improve utilisation, depending on what each stakeholder needs.”

The cost of limited visibility is already clear. Misplaced ULDs delay departures. Congestion increases dwell times. For temperature-sensitive cargo, failures during ground handling often result in losses.

Ground handlers remain central to the issue. They control cargo at key transition points but operate across multiple airline systems with limited interoperability. In practise, this creates parallel data records without a single, shared version of truth.

Even with IoT, gaps remain.

“While IoT has brought improvements, the journey toward fully seamless tracking is still evolving,” Elfring says. “A key challenge is the varying level of digital maturity across systems that IoT data flows into. High-quality tracking data still needs to integrate with systems that are not always aligned.”

He emphasises that safety remains non-negotiable. “Any tracking device must meet strict aviation certification standards. There is no trade-off between visibility and safety. We are moving from a Swiss watch to an Apple Watch. It tells the same thing, but in a more dynamic and forward-looking way,” he says.

For air cargo, the implication is clear. As high-value and sensitive shipments increase, tolerance for in-transit uncertainty is shrinking. Visibility is no longer a differentiator. It is a baseline requirement.