You are here: Home » Areas of Activity » Cargo » Tracker Newsletter » Cargo Tracker February 2011 » E-freight now live in 44 countries, marks its first paperless flight

IATA, FIATA (International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations), TIACA (The International Air Cargo Association) and the GSF (Global Shipper Forum) signed an agreement in November 2010 to enhance and unify collaboration. The Global Air Cargo Advisory Group (GACAG), established through the agreement, aims to align all stakeholders on important topics of shared interest. One of the key areas GACAG will drive is e-freight. To make the vision of 100% e-freight a reality all stakeholders must work together and the GACAG will be an essential forum for collaboration and direction setting.   

Important decisions on e-freight and other major industry issues are also expected to surface at the IATA World Cargo Symposium, gathering stakeholders and key decision makers in Istanbul on 8-10 March 2011.

Meanwhile, the industry is also moving forward. Congratulations go to:

• Emirates SkyCargo for their first paperless flight. On 16 December 2010 all shipments on a flight from Mauritius (MRU) to Dubai (DXB) were e-freight. Read the full story on the Emirates website.
• Swiss WorldCargo for leading the effort to go e-freight live in Basel. Read the full story on the Swiss WorldCargo website.

With 44 e-freight live locations, the network is in place and focus will now shift towards increasing volumes. Paper-free air cargo was most recently adopted in Israel, Italy, Cyprus , Kenya, South Africa, Mexico, Ireland and Slovakia.

At the beginning of May, Italy, with a reorganized working group led by Lufthansa Cargo in agreement with Alitalia, proved to be extremely determined to go live by the end of the year. This achievement was made possible in less than six months thanks to the cooperation and commitment of these key industry stakeholders such as:

Airlines: Emirates, Air France, Alitalia, Cathay Pacific and Cargoitalia

Freight Forwarders: Savino del Bene, DHL Global Forwarding, Ventana Serra Agility Logistics, DB Schenker

Customs broker: Carioni Spedizioni

Ground Handler/ Warehouse Operators: SEA Aeroporti di Milano and ALHA Airport

Government Entities: Italian Customs

Service Providers: Net Solving

In Israel, e-freight implementation was truly an industry effort, with members from the whole supply chain participating. The team was led by EL AL Israel Airlines in close cooperation with the customs authorities and with strong support of the forwarding community and their association:

Airlines: Swiss International Airlines, Lufthansa Airlines

Forwarders:

• Flying Cargo (FC)International Transportation in close cooperation with DHL Global Forwarding. 
• Orian Customs Services in close cooperation with DB Schenker.
• Brinks Global Services (BGS)

Ground Handler/ Warehouse Operators: Swissport Cargo Services

Government Entities: Israeli Customs

For information and updates on e-freight, visit our project website.