e-AWB

The Electronic Air Waybill Resolution 672 (MeA) removes the requirement for a paper AWB. In 2010, IATA introduced an electronic air waybill (e-air waybill or e-AWB) that became the default contract of carriage for all air cargo shipments on January 1, 2019. The electronic contract of carriage is achieved through the interchange of electronic data (EDI) messages (FWB/XFWB, FSU/XFSU). The Multilateral e-AWB Agreement, IATA Resolution 672 (pdf), provides a single standard agreement that airlines and freight forwarders can sign once with IATA and start doing e-AWB with all other parties to the agreement.

A Lufthansa Cargo shipment uses AWB number 020-12345678, where freight forwarder sends an FWB message to Lufthansa's cargo system to establish the electronic contract instead of a paper AWB. A FedEx Express consolidation carries AWB number 023-87654321, with both FWB and FHL messages transmitted electronically to handle the master airway bill and house manifest without any physical documents.

• electronic air waybill
• paperless AWB
• digital AWB

What messages are required to implement e-AWB between freight forwarders and airlines?

Capability to send out FWB / XFWB and FHL / XFHL messages and Capability to receive FSU/FOH, FSU/RCS, FMA (Acknowledgement) and FNA(Reject) messages are required. IATA recommends using the Internet-based Cargo-XML format to exchange electronic information (there's also an old Cargo-IMP standard, but it's no longer maintained since 2014, though still in use).

Do freight forwarders need separate e-AWB agreements with each airline they work with?

The Multilateral e-AWB Agreement, IATA Resolution 672 (pdf), provides a single standard agreement that airlines and freight forwarders can sign once with IATA and start doing e-AWB with all other parties to the agreement. Do not start e-AWB until you receive the Activation Notice from your airline partner. Each airline must send individual activation notices to enable e-AWB operations at specific airports.