IATA-FIATA approve multilateral e-air waybill

Glattbrugg, Switzerland–The International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) have approved the standard for a Multilateral electronic Air Waybill (e-AWB), removing the need for bilateral e-AWB agreements between airlines and freight forwarders.

Airlines will have a single agreement with IATA that enables them to accept e-AWBs from all participating freight forwarders, while freight forwarders will have a single agreement that will allow them to tender e-AWB shipments to multiple airlines at numerous airports worldwide, said the associations in a release.

IATA and FIATA, together with some of their members, developed and tested the multilateral e-AWB standard in 2012. Trials in October 2012 confirmed the value of the new agreement, which was endorsed by the IATA/FIATA Consultative Council in February 2013. Final consent was reached with the approval by the IATA Cargo Services Conference of the Multilateral e-AWB as the new IATA Resolution 672 in March.

“The approval of the multilateral e-AWB agreement is the most important new cargo standard developed in the last two decades. It gives us critical momentum to achieving the e-freight vision of a paperless cargo system,” said Des Vertannes, IATA’s Global Head of Cargo.

“Freight forwarders and airlines were looking forward to greater simplification when they looked at the e-AWB agreement; now this new multilateral e-AWB agreement allows forwarders to sign only once to connect to all signatory airlines. It means significant progress as joining the multilateral e-AWB agreement provides the legal framework to transmit AWB data electronically to the carrier for AWB completion,” said Rudi Sagel, FIATA’s Chairman of the Air Freight Institute.

FIATA and IATA said they expect the multilateral e-AWB agreement to play a major role in increasing take-up of the e-AWB to reach the industry target of 100% penetration by 2015.