Lufthansa Cargo using the INFr8 platform has handled the world’s first dangerous goods shipment with an electronic Dangerous Goods Declaration (eDGD) at Frankfurt Airport.
A shipment from the globally active healthcare company Abbott based in Wiesbaden was flown on board cargo flight LH8222 to Mexico City last Thursday.
Lufthansa Cargo has made a significant contribution to the establishment of the global eDGD standard as part of IATA’s e-freight initiative.
A completely new approach has been developed and evaluated through close collaboration all along the transport chain with the Infr8 eDGD platform. Lufthansa Cargo’s IT systems and processes can now deal with paperless dangerous goods shipments. This makes Lufthansa Cargo the first and so far only airline to support the eDGD standard.
Lufthansa Cargo board members of operations and chief operating officer, Sören Stark said: “We are pleased that the eDGD has celebrated its global launch with Lufthansa Cargo. This underscores our claim to be the industry pioneer in digitisation. There is still so much more for us to achieve here together with shippers, forwarders and airports.”
Hand-in-hand with this, the pilot phase of the INFr8 shipping portal has been successfully launched. All pilot partners are digitally connected to the platform and can use it to process transport documents – including the Dangerous Goods Declaration (DGD) required by law.
“Our shipping portal solves a major challenge in the air cargo supply chain, ensuring greater reliability and transparency for all. We are greatly simplifying processes across company boundaries,” said DAKOSY AG chief executive officer, Ulrich Wrage, in reference to the launch of the INFr8 pilot.
Besides Lufthansa Cargo, logistics service provider Panalpina has also been a key process partner to Dakosy, the platform developer. Frankfurt Airport plays a major role in dangerous goods handling for both companies. Fraport, responsible for providing and operating the airport’s infrastructure, has contributed significantly to the development of the portal.
Fraport executive director of operations, Anke Giesen said: “Thanks to this worldwide innovation, the INFr8 platform integrates the shipper into the electronic information chain of the air cargo process for the first time. We expect this to result in shorter check-in times and much faster handling of dangerous goods.”
The DGR process has traditionally been paper-based due to the lack of digital standards. DGD on paper from shippers arrive at the airport with the respective goods. Accordingly, airlines can only begin checking the documentation after handover.
Thanks to the new electronic system, however, errors in accompanying documentation can be detected and corrected out before the airline ever receives the shipment. This will translate into fewer rejected shipments in the future. It will also mean faster processes and better use of resources.
