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The topic of this thesis is digital transformation of air cargo, and this research aims to identify drivers and barriers of change as well as solutions for the future. Main themes of this research have been visible in form of new innovations, articles and researches as well as from an industry bodies such as IATA, for some years now. There have been efforts within the air cargo industry to move towards a more digital world, but still adaptation lags behind and funding is limited. At the same time e-commerce and COVID-19 are transforming the air cargo industry with challenges requiring rapid changes. Literature review of this research consists of knowledge on air cargo and air cargo supply chain, first providing knowledge of the value of air cargo, forces and constraints for growth followed by introduction the common concepts, processes and stakeholders. Most importantly, literature review explains the data transfer within the air cargo supply chain and provides some examples of future digitalization of the air cargo industry. Literature review is based on industry articles and researches conducted. Research methodology consists of qualitative in-depth interviews conducted with aviation industry professionals, with decades of experience from different parts of the air cargo supply chain. Interviews were conducted during the fall of 2020 and sample size for this research was five participants. Based on the results from the interviews, the most common drivers of change were the rapid rise of e-commerce and the current COVID-19 pandemic. Most notable problems were fragmentation of the supply chain as well as lack of funding for new innovations and developments. However, also solutions for these problems were identified in forms of data- sharing and collaboration. These factors create many opportunities and the literature review of this report introduces the shift from traditional EDI systems used in air cargo into APIs as the enables of collaborative supply chains of the future. Data sharing being one primary solution as it hosts major opportunities in the shift from fragmented arcanely lead industry into transparent and collaborative future. In aim for a brighter future and digital transformation, air cargo industry has seen global standards set, partnerships created and innovations formed.

This dataset contains the underlying data for the following publication: Lalas, D., Gakis, N., Mirasgedis, S., Georgopoulou, E., Sarafidis, Y., & Doukas, H. (2021). Energy and GHG Emissions Aspects of the COVID Impact in Greece. Energies, 14(7), 1955. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14071955.

In December 2019, the novel corona virus epidemic began to spread across the world, causing a huge impact on a variety of industries. Due to the strict global regional control, the transportation of personnel and goods is severely hindered, resulting in a significant reduction in the demand for passenger and cargo transportation. The impact on the transportation industry cannot be underestimated, and the air transportation industry, as one of them, is no exception. Since 2022, the COVID-19 epidemic has improved, and the air transport industry has gradually recovered its vitality. Air freight forwarding companies have also begun to increase their air transport business to make up for the business losses during the epidemic period, so as to achieve better development. In this process, as a link between the previous and the next, the warehouse has the functions of storage, supporting the life cycle of goods, distribution and processing, information transmission, adjusting supply and demand and cargo transportation capacity, etc, which plays a pivotal role in shortening transportation time, improving transportation efficiency, reducing transportation costs and ensuring low consumption rate of goods. Therefore, it is very important for air freight forwarder to choose a suitable warehouse address. This paper takes QS Air Freight Forwarding Company as an example, uses SWOT analysis to analyze the basic situation and advantages and disadvantages of the company, gives appropriate alternative schemes, and then makes a comprehensive analysis through questionnaire survey and analytic hierarchy process, and finally works out the most appropriate warehouse location scheme.

Many countries around the world have chosen lockdown and restrictions on people's mobility as the main strategies to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. These actions have significantly affected environmental noise and modified urban soundscapes, opening up an unprecedented opportunity for research in the field. In order to enable these investigations to be carried out in a more harmonized and consistent manner, this paper makes a proposal for a set of indicators that will enable to address the challenge from a number of different approaches. It proposes a minimum set of basic energetic indicators, and the taxonomy that will allow their communication and reporting. In addition, an extended set of descriptors is outlined which better enables the application of more novel approaches to the evaluation of the effect of this new soundscape on people's subjective perception.

Over the past two years (2018-2019) European aviation has been confronted with serious capacity challenges and high levels of delay. Subsequently, the Covid-19 pandemic has revealed that the European airspace system lacks resilience and the ability to absorb demand shocks, be these in the form of increases or drops in air traffic. The provision of Air Traffic Management (ATM) data services holds the potential to boost the system’s resilience while enabling the development of virtual centers. Virtual centers, in turn, can make it possible to shift capacities in times of crisis of the kind we are facing today, where, for instance, a significant reduction of the capacity in one center may be needed. Building upon the first workshop on Enabling ATM Data Services, this second workshop aimed to share the latest progress made on the European Commission’s study as well as to provide an opportunity for an open discussion with key stakeholders. This brief summarises the presented results and captures the main reactions received to the study.

Cities will be home to 2 billion new residents by 2045, and the pressure to develop land in and around cities is growing. This will pose a great challenge to lower‐income cities since they tend to grow through slums and other informal settlements. Slum residents have inadequate and inequitable access to public services and economic opportunities, and on account of the living conditions in these settlements, they are also more vulnerable to diseases, especially highly communicable ones, such as COVID-19. In 2014, an estimated 880 million urban residents lived in slum conditions, compared with 792 million in 2000 (UN 2019). This number is likely to keep growing unless urban spatial expansion is planned and managed well. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, development institutions will need to support clients in managing urban spatial growth. An integrated approach towards land administration, land use planning, and land development – three major determinants of urban spatial growth – will be key. This evaluation offers IEG’s first systematic assessment of the World Bank’s support to the management of urban spatial growth. It answers the question: To what extent has World Bank engagement been relevant and effective towards supporting its clients in managing urban spatial growth through land administration, land‐use planning, and land development?

Year 2020 will mark History, with the emergence of the new Covid-19 virus, and more importantly, the consequent political decisions to apply freedom restriction at such a largescale. Identifying the human behaviours during this extraordinary period represents a unique opportunity to both improve our fundamental knowledge and to improve future management of similar issues. Throughout almost all the duration of the French lockdown (from March 24, 2020 to May 10, 2020), we carried out an online survey on more than 12,000 individuals well distributed over the country. This online survey was performed by using both Lime-Survey and Google Forms services and was addressed to adults living in France. Statistical analyses combined classical inferential approach, mapping, clustering and text mining. The results showed that a significant part of the population moved out just before the lockdown (around 10% of our sample) and we highlighted three different profiles of participants. The results emphasised that the lockdown measures compliance was lower in two cases: (i) an unfavourable living environment (referring to social and economic inequity) associated with a high feeling of fear and a lack of trust towards Governmental measures; or (ii) the feeling that the risk was low due to the fact that others complied with the measures. In case a similar situation should occur again, it is recommended that Governments broadcast clear speeches to improve trust, limit fear and increase cooperative behaviours.

With the flooding and sickness impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, most businesses have seen the need for online or virtual trading and products' delivery to the point of order. Whether through their channels, sub-contracted, or third-party agents, the process of delivering items to the customers has gained significant attention over the years. Therefore, referred to as the last-mile delivery process, and the growth of e-commerce activities has enhanced it. Though it comes with an additional fee, the last-mile logistical system is a convenient and sustainable distribution mode, which provides a competitive advantage to companies. The current study analyses the effect of e-commerce last-mile modes on the environment and the mediating role of sustainable logistics technology. Contextually, this study took in the city of Helsinki and Oulu. The study highlights four critical issues linked to the last-mile logistical modes to incorporate a qualitative research methodology a thematic analytical process. Such as convenience due to fewer traffic jams and fuel savings, cost-cutting for distribution functions minimized queuing problems, improved ecological environment due to suppressed carbon emissions, and improved quality of life of consumers. It is recommended that firms adopt technologies that minimize substantial waste pollution, which can be addressed through the last-mile logistical options.

Air Traffic Management (ATM) is a set of services which every State must provide for the safe and efficient operation of air traffic. Today, it is almost entirely financed by user fees according to the “user pays” principle. Until today, the “user” has always been assumed to be the airspace user, normally an airline. This system comes under pressure today: current Single European Sky (SES) regulation is built on the assumption that air traffic in Europe continuously increases. Thus, the financing of ATM would be secured by increasing revenue due to higher traffic volumes. Technological progress and efficiency gains should lead to reduced cost and lower environmental footprint of aviation while increasing safety and capacity. Two crises – the financial and banking crisis of 2008 and more recently the COVID-19 pandemic – show that the assumptions of this regulatory framework are wrong. Additionally, there is the question of who the actual “users” are. Does ATM only serve paying airlines, or are there some services which are provided in the public interest? Turning the wheel back and promoting a full cost recovery financing model would be contrary to the logic of regulating monopolistic infrastructure providers. But it is a fact that recent events raise the question as to whether the current financing model, which is ultimately market based, is still adequate. With the pressure to increase the efficiency of the SES for environmental reasons, one may wonder whether some baseline public financing for the critical infrastructure portion of the ATM – which could be different from country to country – could not mean a step towards a better charging scheme and therefore a step towards the leading ideas behind the SES and the European Green Deal. In light of the above, the 19th Florence Air Forum brought together relevant stakeholders to discuss opportunities and challenges for ATM financing.

Around 75% of European cargo transport operations in terms of ton-kilometers are performed by trucks, which, in turn, entail massive environmental and societal impacts. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, road freight was projected to increase by around 40% by 2030 and by little over 80% by 2050. To support the greening of cargo operations, the European Green Deal calls for a substantial part of the inland freight traffic to shift away from road towards cleaner modes such as rail, inland waterways and short-sea shipping. The subsequent Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy stipulates that rail freight traffic should increase by 50% by 2030 and double by 2050, whereas transport by inland waterways and short sea shipping should increase by 25% by 2030 and by 50% by 2050. In this context, the European Commission has pledged to substantially revamp the framework for multimodal transport by revising the Combined Transport Directive, among other instruments. The scarcity of transhipment infrastructure, and of inland multimodal terminals, in particular, would need to be addressed, and missing links in multimodal infrastructure closed. Moreover, work is underway to establish a common framework for the harmonised measurement of transport and logistics-related greenhouse gas emissions based on global standards. This stands to empower consumers and businesses to make more sustainable delivery and transport choices through the provision of adequate information on the climate footprint as well as on the available alternatives of their deliveries. Inspired by the discussions at the 8th Florence Intermodal Forum, this policy brief reflects on the various measures to green European cargo operations, with a focus on boosting the share of multimodal freight and creating a common carbon accounting framework.