News in Brief podcast | Week 30 2024 | Surcharges, strikes and IATA's stressful settlements
In this episode of The Loadstar’s News in Brief Podcast, host and news reporter Charlotte Goldstone ...
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By Alex Lennane
IATA is keeping silent over a call for an ethical air cargo industry standard. Last week, following the outcry over the death-by-trophy-hunter of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe, Virgin Atlantic urged the association to develop “a strict ethical cargo policy to clearly identify shipments not acceptable for carriage”.
The carrier, which has had an ethical policy for more than three years, wants an industry-wide agreement to eliminate shipments of hunting trophies and endangered species.
“The air cargo industry already enforces a range ...
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Carter & Olivia Ries
August 12, 2015 at 12:57 pmAs the founders of One More Generation (OMG) we applaud the stance of Virgin and hope that others will also opt for ethics over profit. We stand available to meet with UPS, FedEx, IATA officials or any other carrier at anytime to discuss their policies and the ramifications of their inactions.
At some point in life we all need to realize we can no longer sit back and wait until change happens in the world, but instead we need to stand up and do what we all know is right. Just because governments around the world have not figured out how to police the trafficking of animal parts, should not be an acceptable excuse for inaction and we hope customers around the world will vote with their wallets and send a clear message to all those hiding behind excuses.
Jens-Thomas Rueckert
August 13, 2015 at 1:57 pmIATA may not always get it right, but their neutral position regarding the carriage of “unethical” cargo most certainly is. No one will prevent Virgin or others to adopt a dictatorial regime of fanatical political correctness, but the issue at hand is that there is no borderline. UPS and FedEx are absolutely right to abide by the LAWS applicable in any state of departure, transit and destination and not by what a moral majority or minority feels being “unethical”.
How about Asian (Khmer or Chinese) antiques legally exported and decorated with swastikas? Or just bad taste, such as fake promo t-shirts for AMC’s “Better call Saul” – I can prove this is not your baby? Lighters (without gas and thus no dangerous goods) in the form of hand grenades? What about belt buckles and t-shirts featuring the Confederate flag?
Ethics is always a cultural thing, too.
For me, it is unethical to impose one’s personal moral framework on others (with a few basic (almost) universally accepted exceptions). Just my 2 cent.