Air Cargo Participation Plan

The Committee shall be open to any employee of an Airport Member or Associate Member of ACI-NA who may join by notifying the appropriate ACI-NA staff who will place them on the distribution list. No special qualifications, experience, or work commitment are required.

To join the Air Cargo Committee, please contact Debby McElroy at dmcelroy@airportscouncil.org.

The Air Cargo Committee shall meet two times per year at the ACI-NA Annual Conference and the annual ACI-NA Air Cargo Committee-affiliated conference and may meet (virtually) more frequently as determined by the Committee Officers/Leadership Team. ACI-NA staff will give advance meeting notice which shall be open to any committee member that wishes to attend.

The Steering Group shall consist of up to 20 members, including:

• Committee Officers/Leadership Team – leadership of the Steering Group
  1. Chair – Serves a two-year term and must be an Airport Member
     employee. Prior to assuming this position, the individual must have served as the Vice-Chair.
  2. Vice-Chair – Serves for a two-year term and must be an Airport Member employee. Prior to assuming this position, the individual have a minimum of one year on the Steering Group. The Vice-Chair will succeed to the Chair upon rotation of the incumbent subject. If this seat is open, leadership will make a recommendation to fill the vacancy subject to an affirmative vote of the majority of Steering Group members.
  3. Immediate Past Chair – May serve for a two-year term beginning upon succession by the new Chair and must be held by the previous Chair.
  4. Associate Member Representative (Officer) – Serves for a two-year term and must be an Associate Member employee. Prior to assuming this position, the individual have a minimum of one year on the Steering Group. If this seat is open, leadership will make a recommendation to fill the vacancy.
• Board Liaison – ACI-NA Board Chair will appoint an independent member to serve as a liaison between the Air Cargo Committee and the Board.
• Steering Group Members – excluding Leadership Team, Board Liaison and Ex-officio Representatives, is comprised of:
  1. 8-10 Airport Representatives – A representative is determined by nomination for a two-year term and must be an Airport Member employee. At least one position must be reserved for a Canadian airport unless none opt for participation. Each Airport Representative is nominated or self-nominated for the position, and will be appointed through a review process conducted by the Nomination Committee.
  2. 1-2 Associate Member Representatives – A representative is determined by nomination for a two-year term and must be an Associate Member employee. Each Associate Member Representative is nominated or self-nominated for the position, and will be appointed through a review process conducted by the Nomination Committee.
  3. 1-2 Young Professionals (YP)– A representative is determined by nomination for a one-year term, 1 from an Airport and 1 from a WBP/Associate Member in good standing. The YP may be re-elected the following year according to the Participation Plan Nomination Process. Each Representative is nominated or self-nominated for the position, and will be appointed through a review process conducted by the Nomination Committee. Representatives must be under 35 years old, and can participate on a Steering Group even if their airport/company already participates as a Steering Group member.
• Ex-officio Representatives – Past Committee Chairs and Associate Member Representatives (Officer) may participate as Ex-officio Representatives for up to three years following the end of the year in which they held a leadership position; this includes the Member Emeritus and liaisons from other Committees.
  • Member Emeritus – A member who has served two or more terms on the Steering Group and made significant contributions to the Committee may be appointed Emeritus Member and serve additional term(s) as an ad hoc addition as approved by the Committee Chair, Vice-Chair and Immediate Past Chair.

Steering Group Participation and Terms

The Steering Group shall meet two times per year at the ACI-NA Annual Conference and the annual ACI-NA Air Cargo Committee-affiliated conference and may meet (virtually) more frequently as determined by the Committee Officers/Leadership Team.

While involvement in the Committee is voluntary, members of the Steering Group are expected to take an active and participatory role in the activities of the Committee to include Working Groups, Task Forces and/or other roles that may arise during the course of their term. Steering Group members may serve up to 2 consecutive two-year terms, after which the member must take one year off, subject to the following exceptions:

• Time served as part of the Committee Officers/Leadership Team is not included as part of the 2 two-year terms.
• The member is a Working Group/Task Force Chair whose project work may require an extension.
• The member has contributed significantly and is an integral part of the current Steering Group composition, as determined by the leadership.
• In the event a member is unable to participate and contribute to the Steering Group as anticipated, the leadership may review relevant contributions and determine that a second term is not a desired option.

The Nomination Committee shall be chaired by the Air Cargo Committee Immediate Past Chair and include the Chair, the Vice-Chair, the Associate Member Representative (Officer), and the Member Emeritus.

The Nomination Committee shall request ACI-NA to circulate a request for nominations for the open positions by August 15 of each year or as deemed necessary to address off-cycle Steering Group openings.

Any Air Cargo Committee member may nominate another committee member or self-nominate for any open position for Airport Representative or Associate Member Representative as appropriate.

The Nomination Committee shall review the candidates and consider the following criteria. These reflect the Committee’s responsibility to provide and share information and guidance to ACI-NA members.

• Experience in the air cargo or a directly related industry
• Geographic location, with representation from both Canada and the U.S.
• Complementary knowledge or skill sets – i.e. land use, economic development, physical planning, etc.
• Expertise in a current or anticipated trend in air cargo
• Current airport cargo activity level – large, medium, or small cargo operation
• Past and current involvement with the Committee
• Interest and availability to work on the Steering Group.
• Willingness to share practical (non-proprietary) knowledge with other members based on first-hand experiences with issues related to air cargo development

An announcement of new leadership and Steering Group members will be made at the ACI-NA Annual Conference Air Cargo Committee Meeting and/or through email if a position is filled off-cycle.

Two-year terms shall run from January 1 through December 31 of the next year.

If the Chair resigns during the year, then the Vice-Chair will assume the Chair position for the remainder of that term, and, based on timing, may serve in this position for an additional year.

If the Vice-Chair resigns during the year, then a special nominating process may be held for that position. The Nomination Committee shall handle this process as discussed in 6.a.i.2. The vote may be handled through email/conference call.

The Air Cargo Committee is a working entity within a rapidly changing and evolving industry. To carry out this role effectively, the Steering Group oversees and participates in two Working Groups and project Task Forces the subjects of which are determined by the Committee.

The Steering Group, with the participation of the full Committee, will determine an annual work plan for review and acceptance at the Winter ACI-NA Board of Directors Meeting. This will form the basis for the allocation of work assignments and their priorities. Steering Group members are expected to be involved with either a Working Group or a Task Force. Typically the Working Groups are staffed by member volunteers and all Committee members are encouraged to participate in the efforts.

A Working Group is comprised of committee members that advise the Steering Group on issues related to a specific subject area. A Task Force is established for a finite period of time, varying from weeks to months, and addresses more current industry issues.

Task Force topics will be selected and prioritized by the Committee and reviewed by the Steering Group to ensure relevance to the greatest number of ACI-NA members.

Each year the Steering Group will determine a work plan. The work plan will define the Working Groups’ and Task Forces’ agendas for that calendar year and include a description of each group’s objectives and outcomes. This will form the basis for the allocation of work assignments and their priorities.

New Working Groups and Task Forces may be initiated as deemed necessary by the Air Cargo Committee Steering Group.

Working Groups and Task Forces may be discontinued or inactivated if there are no pertinent issues to be discussed or if objectives cannot be achieved.

Working Groups and Task Forces shall have a Chair, who will be appointed from the Steering Group. Whenever possible, Chairs will serve until project completion and will be responsible for identifying a plan and schedule for the effort, keep the Steering Group advised on progress, and present updates and the final product at Committee meetings as appropriate.

All Air Cargo Committee Steering Group members are strongly encouraged to actively participate in at least one Working Group or Task Force.

Any member of the Air Cargo Committee may request to participate in a Working Group and Task Force. Members may participate on more than one Working Group or Task Force with expectations to be active participants accordingly.

These two Working Groups represent functions of an ongoing nature which are vital to the continuing growth and success of the Committee:

1. Membership Engagement leads outreach to industry airports to encourage participation and broaden participation in the Committee. Work will include identification of key issues that may adversely impact the ability or inclination of airports to participate and strategies to address these challenges.
2. Industry Issues seeks to identify and bring to the Steering Group industry trends and challenges that are developing and could represent issues for airports over the foreseeable future if not addressed on a timely basis. These issues may be the subject of a Task Force.