“In times of crisis, expectation from the bigger brother are justified. While the airlines also need money, a sensitive approach is needed. IATA’s insistence will have very different reactions and the results could be varied. A number of IATA agents will be forced to default, even if they have always been compliant. Member airlines may also want to exit the CASS since business is generated not by the airlines but by the agents. A simple fact missed out in the insistence of remaining insensitive,” says Samir Shah, Advisor, Federation of Freight Forwarders Association in India (FFFAI).
He adds, ”The problems are many and the biggest is continuity of business. The model is based on rotation of funds; clients’ payments have dried up or are delayed. This break in cycle will break many organisations.”