FHL (Freight House Listing)

FHL (Freight House Listing) is an electronic message that contains a summary of a house air waybill, serving as the electronic replacement of a paper house AWB. Freight forwarders send FHL messages to carriers during consolidation shipments, transmitting house manifest data that lists all house waybills associated with a master AWB. The current standard is FHL version 4 in Cargo-IMP format, with an equivalent XFHL message in Cargo-XML format. Airlines generally accept FHLs with information for one house waybill per message, requiring multiple FHLs when consolidating several house bills under one master.

A freight forwarder consolidating three house shipments under Emirates SkyCargo master AWB 176-12345678 sends three separate FHL messages to Emirates: one for house bill EK-HOU-001 (10 pieces, 150kg machinery), one for house bill EK-HOU-002 (5 pieces, 75kg electronics), and one for house bill EK-HOU-003 (8 pieces, 200kg textiles). A Lufthansa Cargo consolidation from Frankfurt (FRA) to Los Angeles (LAX) under master AWB 020-98765432 requires the forwarder to transmit an FHL message containing shipper/consignee details, piece count, weight, and commodity description for each house waybill within the consolidation.

• FHL
• house waybill list
• house bill manifest message

What version of FHL message should I use for ACAS compliance?

Use FHL version 4 in Cargo-IMP format or the equivalent XFHL in Cargo-XML format, as these versions meet current customs and security requirements including U.S. ACAS advance screening mandates.

Can I send multiple house waybills in one FHL message?

While FHL can technically list all houses related to a master, airlines generally only accept FHLs with information for one house waybill. Send multiple FHL messages - one per house - when consolidating several shipments under one master AWB.