Nine IATA member carriers took the initiative to implement the e-airway bill into the Nordic and Baltic countries. This announcement was made during the recent Nordic Cargo Symposium which CargoForwarder Global reported on last week.
The e-AWB was a much debated topic at the above mention conference.
However, SAS Cargo, Finnair Cargo, Lufthansa Cargo, Air France/KLM, Korean Air, Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways and Emirates, - all who are carriers who serve cities in these areas regularly - have
taken the lead to implement the e-AWB in this part of the world.
The decision for the actual implementation is new, but most of these carriers have been discussing and planning for this day since as early back as 2009.
It will be a global operation whereby ground handlers, freight forwarders, airlines and most importantly, the World Customs Organization (WCO) are fully integrated as well.
Although this is a Nordic area decision, the implementation will be introduced locally in each country whereby the airlines will introduce a single process for freight forwarders to drop their
freight at the warehouses of the ground handlers. This will ensure that the delivery and handling timeframe will drop considerably.
Des Vertannes, IATA’s Cargo Chief said, “congratulations to the Nordic and Baltic countries, the airlines, forwarders and ground handlers involved, for implementing the e-AWB across the region.”
He went on to say that “this is a fantastic example of cross-border cooperation and will be of immense benefit to businesses and the economy. This clearly demonstrates that where there is a will,
there is a way. I am confident that this will motivate other nations and regions as they look to accelerate the adoption of the e-AWB.”
Let’s hope that the other larger regions jump quickly onto the band-wagon and that in a shorter than we thought period of time, the e-AWB is worldwide!
John Mc Donagh