IATA expands freight services in Brazil, Mexico and Paraguay | News
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is expanding the presence of its cargo offerings in Latin America, including the Cargo Accounts Settlement Systems (CASS). Tonne-kilometres for carriers in the region grew at an average annual rate of 3.3% in the ten years to April 2026, resulting in cumulative growth of 38.8% over the decade. This supports the following developments:
Mexico
CASS’s domestic operations launched in April 2026 on the strong foundations laid by the CASS Export operations started in 1987. Mexico will be the second country, after the US, to roll out IATA FlexiPay, enabling real-time billing, secure prepayment and flexible payment arrangements between airlines, freight agents and forwarders.
Mexico is one of the largest air freight markets in the region. In 2025, the domestic air freight segment transported more than 125,000 tons of air freight, accounting for 15.8% of the total tonnage transported to, from and within Mexico. In the first quarter of 2026, domestic connectivity was strengthened, with the fastest growing routes being Monterrey-Mexico City International Airport (+50.9% YoY), Tijuana-Guadalajara (+36.0% YoY) and Mexico City International Airport-Hermosillo (+17.0% YoY).
Paraguay
CASS Export is scheduled to open in Paraguay in the last quarter of 2026, with strong industry uptake expected as cargo volumes grow.
Although Paraguay is one of Latin America’s smaller markets, there is significant volume growth. In 2025, Paraguay transported more than 42,000 tons of air freight, an increase of 225.3% year on year.
Brazil
IATA plans to introduce CASS Domestic in Brazil from early 2027. This builds on the strength of CASS Export, which has been active in the market for more than twenty years.
In 2025, airlines serving Brazil transported more than 791,000 tons of air freight, of which 7.9% was domestic traffic. Overall, air freight carried 5.9% of Brazil’s exports by value in 2025, although these high-value, low-density exports represented only 0.3% of the total weight of Brazilian exports.
“IATA has been actively supporting airlines in Latin America for decades with streamlined payment and settlement systems. The cargo industry has long recognized the value of IATA’s CASS and is now placing its trust in IATA to support the growth of domestic markets in Brazil and Mexico and an emerging export market in Paraguay,” said Juan Antonio Rodríguez, IATA’s executive director for financial services, BSP & CASS.
About CAS
CASS plays a crucial role in streamlining the global movement of air freight by simplifying billing and settlement between airlines and freight forwarders. This is managed through CASSLink, an advanced global, web-based e-invoicing solution.
In 2025, CASS processed $47.5 billion, with an on-time settlement rate of 100%. Globally, IATA operates 89 CASS export operations, 9 CASS import operations and 2 CASS domestic operations, including the recently launched Mexico Domestic CASS.
