US forwarders are calling for action after Monday's flight disruption brought air cargo operations to a standstill and left shippers scrambling to rebook freight.

The disruption, which hit flights on Monday, prompted forwarding executives to demand concrete measures to prevent a repeat, arguing that the failure exposed vulnerabilities in the systems air cargo depends on.

For forwarders, the immediate commercial consequences were tangible. Disrupted flights mean missed cut-offs, rebooking costs and re-planning of routings for time-critical cargo — freight that typically commands the highest rates in the market. Shippers with perishables, pharmaceuticals and other deadline-sensitive commodities faced the sharpest exposure.

The call for action signals that US forwarders want accountability and structural fixes rather than apologies. Their demand adds pressure on airlines, airports and system operators to review contingency procedures and communication protocols, so that a single point of failure cannot again cascade across schedules.

Carriers, for their part, will need to demonstrate that recovery procedures — re-accommodating freight, prioritising high-value shipments and keeping forwarders informed — worked as intended. Forwarders judge partners on exactly these moments, and repeated failures risk shifting volume to operators with stronger contingency records.

The episode also serves as a stress test for the air cargo supply chain as it continues to handle elevated volumes and tight capacity on key lanes. Any systemic weakness that grounds flights, even briefly, translates directly into backlogs, rebooking surcharges and knock-on delays for connecting services.

Whether the forwarders' call produces policy changes, investment in redundancy or new industry-wide protocols remains to be seen, but the demand puts the issue firmly on the agenda of airlines and infrastructure operators in the weeks ahead.