IATA, FIATA Approve Electronic Air Waybill Standard
The International Federal of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) approved the multilateral electronic Air Waybill (e-AWB) standard, allowing for airlines to use a single agreement with IATA to use e-AWBs, the associations said in a press release. Final consent was reached with the approval by the IATA Cargo Services Conference March, the release said.
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As a result of the agreement, there won't be a need for a bilateral e-AWB agreement between airlines and freight forwarders, they said. “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," said Rudi Sagel, chairman of FIATA's Air Freight Institute. "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.”