From expanding key vertical markets and increasing international e-commerce volumes to embracing an ‘act locally, think globally’ approach in its operations, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) continues to strengthen its position as a leading global cargo hub. The airport’s vice president of airline relations and cargo business development, Milton De La Paz, emphasises that agility and collaboration are critical to its success.
How are global economic conditions affecting the air cargo industry in general, and what implications does this have for DFW?
Global economic factors have impacted air cargo in multiple ways over the past couple of years. Geo-political conflict in the Ukraine and Middle East have resulted in moderate modal shifts from sea to air with the challenges of shipping through the Red Sea and Suez Canal. These shifts have driven airlines to redeploy capacity to meet demand in different lanes than we saw during the period prior to 2022.
In addition, the continued accelerating growth in international e-commerce from China to Europe and the Americas, has driven demand for charters putting further pressure on capacity on key markets for DFW which has been exacerbated by aircraft delivery delays.
DFW is fortunate to have a central US location with an omni-directional distribution radius, along with a strong manufacturing sector and a diverse base of industries that drive global trade.
We have also adopted a strategic focus to grow key vertical markets in alignment with our overall business objectives. E-commerce, aerospace, automotive, perishables, pharma and transborder Mexico trade are all verticals that are important to our cargo business.
What do you see as the biggest challenges facing air cargo airports in the next 5-10 years, and how is DFW preparing to address these?
DFW is fortunate to have a central US location with an omni-directional distribution radius, along with a strong manufacturing sector and a diverse base of industries that drive global trade.
For any airport, providing the required infrastructure and future-proof facilities for the ever-changing needs of the industry while meeting industry sustainability demands and ensuring the airport is not under or over capacity is an ongoing challenge.
Developing the right sized airside capacity taking future growth into consideration including specialised facilities relevant to your vertical market strengths, balanced with commensurate landside infrastructure accounting for roadway connectivity and the entire cargo community that fosters a collaborative approach to efficiency to reduce bottlenecks and congestion optimising the efficient flow of goods in and out of the airport is critical.
The recruitment, training and retention of talent along with the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and other advanced technologies in the air cargo logistics sector will continue to be a challenge for airport communities.
DFW has initiatives underway in many of these areas, including an airport-wide 5G wireless network, a new road which will provide additional ingress and egress to the airport among others.
We’re fortunate to have a dedicated Innovation Department with a budget to financially support projects, providing us with the opportunity to continuously look at new and innovative ways to solve various business scenarios.
Specifically, cargo in conjunction with innovation is seeing how to utilise the beacon from driver data loggers in trucks to better manage stop lights in the landside cargo area, a continuous process of exploration to improve airport efficiency.
What trends are you seeing in cross-border e-commerce, and how is DFW adapting to meet these changing demands?
Volumes of e-commerce continue to grow exponentially each year. In FY 2023, DFW had 20.3 million e-commerce clearances and in FY 2024 ended with 52.2 million clearances. Numbers at DFW continue to grow more than double each year since FY 2020.
For the e-commerce companies operating dedicated charters, there are capacity challenges being faced finding aircraft for new contracts. We’ve heard from large shippers that even more e-commerce cargo could come to DFW because of our central location, but capacity is not always available to increase the number of flights.
With that in mind, we have two existing companies operating multiple weekly charters to DFW who both expect to add frequencies in 2025.
The primary demand of cross-border e-commerce shippers is the speed of clearance and particularly targeted inspections.
The growing international e-commerce volumes, particularly from China coupled with the requirement for speed in clearance and the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s commitment to protect and safeguard our security and commerce, has resulted in a trend to develop on-airport Centralized Examination Stations (CES) facilities.
E-commerce, aerospace, automotive, perishables, pharma and transborder Mexico trade are all verticals that are important to the DFW cargo business.
To facilitate faster resolution of inspections, we have partnered with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and dnata USA to open the first airside Centralized Examination Station (CES) at any US airport. Dnata operates the facility and CBP has officers on-site to perform inspections expeditiously, enabling transfers both ramp-side, as well as landside to meet the needs of the brokers and e-commerce companies resulting in a more efficient e-commerce ecosystem at DFW.
CBP has a goal to come to a resolution (release, seizure, additional paperwork, etc.) on cargo requiring physical inspection within one business day after it is transferred to the CES. This is possible because CBP officers do not have to spend time driving between bonded warehouses spread over a large geographic area resulting in a more efficient allocation of CBP’s time and resources.
Can you discuss the growing importance of pharma and perishables in air cargo? How is DFW equipping itself to handle these specialised shipments?
Increasingly, biologics such as cell gene therapies, and vaccines along with some perishables continue to have a high propensity to fly by air versus other modes of transportation.
With a growing population and a vibrant economy, the DFW area continues to see demand growth in both verticals.
The DFW region and North Texas have a thriving bio-life science sector which is continually attracting pharma manufacturing and distribution to the area. Furthermore, the DFW area has been a magnet in attracting corporate headquarter relocations to the region further driving population growth and household income to handle these time and temperature shipments, we have seen investments in cold storage on the airfield from dnata and American Airlines Cargo, who both have multi-chamber cold storage.
In addition, several companies have invested in increased cold storage and refrigerated trucking capabilities within a couple of miles of the airport.
DFW is one of two airports in the US to have an IATA CEIV Pharma Community designation. Between all the different companies from trucking, warehousing and distribution, pharma logistics and flower distribution, there is over 83,000 sqm of temperature-controlled storage within 10 minutes of the airport.
With the rise of automation and emerging technologies in cargo handling, what impact do you see this having on DFW’s facilities and activities?
We were one of the first airports in the US to implement a cargo community system, the DFW Cargo Cloud, which was developed by Nallian.
This programme was built to improve overall efficiency at the airport by allowing data-sharing in an automated way between airlines, ground handlers, forwarders and trucking companies.
We are aware many of our airline and ground handler partners are working on their own automation initiatives for things like performing nightly inventory with drones, automated pallet retrieval systems, AI for camera systems among others.
As we look to the future, we want to ensure our cargo business initiatives align with our digital transformation strategy and we will continue to work with our dedicated innovation colleagues to optimise technology and automation in alignment with our sustainability goals.
How is DFW addressing sustainability concerns in its cargo operations? What green initiatives are being implemented?
Volumes of e-commerce activity at DFW continue to grow exponentially each year.
As an airport, DFW is an industry leader for sustainability and resiliency with a goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2030, 20 years ahead of the global aviation industry.
We are the largest carbon-neutral airport in the world and the first airport in North America to have achieved that milestone in 2016. Since 2010, DFW has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 81%.
DFW is building an electric Central Utility Plant set to open in 2025 that will be powered by 100% renewable energy and will improve local air quality by decreasing ozone precursor emissions.
In addition to carbon emissions, DFW has an additional goal of producing zero waste. As part of the zero waste programme, we partnered with one of our cargo handlers, Menzies Aviation, to recycle cardboard from e-commerce overpack boxes that were being broken down in the Menzies CFS. With an overwhelming volume of cardboard for the Menzies waste management vendor, DFW was able to provide containers for the cardboard at no charge with the cardboard ultimately going to our recycling vendor and diverting over 21 tonnes of cardboard from landfills.
How is DFW balancing the need for increased security measures with the demand for faster, more efficient cargo processing?
DFW takes security very seriously and has made significant investments in the safety and security for our customers, airline partners, employees and assets.
As an airport, we don’t physically process any cargo ourselves or manage any cargo business directly, these are functions primarily handled by airlines or ground handling service providers. However, from a security perspective, we leverage the latest technologies and training to deliver best-in-class security practices not only for our cargo community partners, but enterprise-wide.
What is the relationship like between DFW and its cargo carriers, freight forwarders and ground handling agents?
We strive to foster a community among the various cargo constituents, and we do this in a variety of ways.
For those operating on the airfield, GHAs, airlines and other service providers we hold quarterly Cargo Area Ramp Efficiency and Safety (CARES) meetings with a focus on airfield operations. Attendees from various DFW departments, our partner agencies at the CBP, USDA, TSA and other key stakeholders are invited to an open forum where departments and agencies give updates from their respective areas of responsibility in which the GHAs and airlines can ask questions or raise issues. The idea is to provide a space where everyone benefits from communication, sharing knowledge, ideas and constructive feedback.
The relationship between the cargo community members and the airport is further strengthened by the knowledge and credibility of DFW’s dedicated cargo team which has over 100 years of combined experience.
Furthermore, we also support our local DFW Air Cargo Association through membership and event sponsorship and for our 50th Anniversary in 2024 held a DFW Cargo Awards Night to recognise our business partners for the success they contribute to our airport.
What value is there in DFW having partnerships with industry associations such as TIACA, IATA and ACI?
DFW has a strategic geographic location, is in the fourth largest and fastest growing metropolitan statistical area in the country, and is increasingly developing and being recognised as a major cargo hub in the global supply chain.
We believe in the mantra, ‘act locally, think globally’, so all the investments and initiatives we mentioned that we do locally related to community, trade growth, technology, communication, safety and security, are critical on a global scale as we connect our region to the world and facilitate international trade across a broad range of commodities.
Air cargo drives economic growth, improves overall well-being and as we witnessed during COVID-19, saves lives as well. We want to add our voice where it’s needed, learn from others and contribute to the positive direction of the global air cargo business.
Reflecting on your role as a senior leader at DFW, what significant lessons have you learned about your organisation, and of the dynamics of the air cargo industry?
Change has been the defining constant in the air cargo industry, and DFW has consistently adapted to meet evolving needs.
From expanding capabilities for perishables and pharmaceuticals to addressing the exponential growth in e-commerce, we’ve learned that agility and collaboration are critical to success.
This industry demands flexibility, and DFW stands committed to leading through innovation and serving both our customers and community with forward-thinking solutions.
I’m motivated by the executive leadership at DFW which understands the value cargo generates for the region and I’m encouraged by their support and commitment to invest in the airport’s cargo facilities and infrastructure for the future.
A strong DFW Cargo community results in a more resilient and robust airport that will be better placed to withstand shocks, adapt, recover and even thrive during such disruptive events.
About Milton De La Paz
As vice president of airline relations and cargo business development at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Milton De La Paz directs the airport’s primary business goal to grow the core business of domestic and international passenger and cargo airline service. He also leads efforts to optimise business performance with all passenger and cargo airline partners at DFW.
De La Paz is an accomplished senior commercial executive with more than 25 years of airline experience in the aviation and commercial airlines industry. He is responsible for the execution of DFW’s short- and long-range new air service strategies and for the airport’s strategy to retain and grow existing airline service. He also leads DFW’s air cargo business development strategy including new air cargo route development initiatives, facilities and infrastructure assessment and DFW air cargo community engagement.
About DFW Airport
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is one of the most connected airports in the world. Centred between owner cities Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, DFW also serves as a major job generator for the North Texas region by connecting people through business and leisure travel. DFW is committed to providing exceptional customer service and in 2023 was named the ‘Best Large Airport for Customer Satisfaction in North America’ by Airports Council International (ACI). A leader in sustainability, DFW is the world’s largest and North America’s first carbon-neutral airport. In 2024, DFW served over 80 million passengers and offered more than 250 global destinations.
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