The latest International Air Transport Association (IATA) figures show that in May electronic air way bill (e-AWB) penetration reached 27.9 percent worldwide as 410,720 air way bills were processed electronically. IATA’s yearend target for e-AWB penetration is 45 percent. The targets for 2016 and 2017 have been kept at 80 percent and 90 percent respectively. India is currently ranked at sixth place with its year on year increase in e-AWB volume from 6585 to 22370.
For the year 2015, IATA has also put the focus on top 50 airports of the world to achieve 55 percent of e-AWB penetration. Among the two Indian airports in the list Mumbai and Delhi have achieved 23.7 percent and 40.4 percent respectively.
In today’s electronic world, air cargo still relies heavily on paper documentation for the exchange of information. Each international airfreight shipment can require more than 30 different paper documents. The AWB is the most important transportation document in air cargo. e-AWB brings accuracy, confidentiality and efficiency.
Worldwide e-AWB penetration reached its highest ever level in May, but the current growth rate is not enough to see it hit the IATA target for 2015 which is 45 percent worldwide.