Lufthansa Cargo totally switches to electronic air waybills
Lufthansa Cargo, the German freight airline, has taken an important step towards the digitalisation of its operations. Starting from 27 March 2022, all shipments on feasible lanes will be carried only with electronic air waybills (eAWB), even including for freight forwarding companies that still use paper air waybills.
By the end of 2022, commercial aviation should reach 100 per cent electronic air waybills (eAWB). Such an ambitious target was declared by IATA in 2020. To meet this goal, Lufthansa Cargo will accept only those shipments with an electronic air waybill (eAWB) on ‘feasible lanes’. “Over the past few years, we have driven many digitization initiatives in the air cargo industry. A majority of our customers already use eAWB exclusively. With the new service, we can now easily take all customers with us on our digitalisation journey and enable them to take the step towards paperless transports as well,” said Ashwin Bhat, CCO of Lufthansa Cargo.
According to Lufthansa Cargo, the new digital service is mandatory on feasible lanes for all forwarding companies that do not yet use electronic air waybills. This means that all shippers who have not been able to use eAWB so far due to their own infrastructure can also switch to paperless transport. If local regulations in a country require the presentation of a paper AWB, Lufthansa Cargo will re-produce the AWB and it will accompany the shipment on the flight.