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e-AWB

The e-freight project, initiated by IATA, aims to take many paper documents out of air cargo and replace them with the exchange of electronic data and messages. The project became an industry-wide initiative involving carriers, freight forwarders, ground handlers, shippers, customs brokers and regulators including Customs authorities. 

The Air Waybill (AWB) is the most important transportation document in Air Cargo. The e-AWB initiative is more and more considered as the first step to realising the e-freight vision. The e-AWB project replaces the paper AWB contract with an electronic contract of carriage between the Shipper (which is very often the Freight Forwarder) and the Carrier.

e-AWB is an electronic air waybill and can be used in lieu of the paper version of the waybill document to give details about the shipment and assert the conditions under which it is being carried.

 

e–AWB

Prior to the implementation of e-AWB, the origin carrier and the freight forwarder must sign an agreement for Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). This will replace the conditions of carriage currently on physical air waybills. To initiate an e-AWB shipment, the shipper will send the completed air way bill data through an electronic message (FWB) to the airline.

The IATA EDI is an industry standard agreement setting guidelines around the exchange of electronic data. It is to be entered into between the freight forwarder and the carrier. The agreement outlines conditions of carriage under which airfreight is moved between countries.

The EDI outlines that each shipment will be initiated by the freight forwarder sending an electronic shipment (FWB) record before/after delivering the cargo to the carrier. Upon accepting the cargo as ready for carriage, the carrier will notify the freight forwarder electronically (FSU) and thus concluding the contract of carriage.

Air Mauritius has adopted the recommended IATA Multilateral Agreement (RP672)
To sign the Multilateral Agreement, please submit the Multilateral Agreement submission form to IATA. The notice can be accessed from the IATA website.
e-AWB IATA multilateral agreement for Forwarders

The following criteria will be used to report e –freight

Category

Special Handling Code

Criteria

e-freight consignment with
accompanying documents in
electronic format

ECC

Same as above but accompanying documents (e.g. invoice, packing list) in electronic format


No air waybill will accompany special handling shipments. The document pouch that includes invoices, permits and certificates will still travel, as per current process. Our ground handling agents will place a pouch label for identification. We encourage our customers to remove the pouch where possible by scanning documents to the consignee at destination.

The house air waybills (FHL) can travel with the document pouch; however we encourage our customers to use the FHL message in place of the physical house air waybill.

Customs release in eligible e-AWB destination is completed electronically. No paper air waybill is required to perform a delivery. List of e-AWB destination 

Yes. Data quality is crucial to the success of e-AWB implementation. If you require assistance in data quality testing or have any questions relating to messaging, we request you to contact our Cargo System Team. Email ([email protected])

Air Mauritius can send and receive version 16 for FWB messages and any version for FHL.

Air Mauritius will insert the Electronic Concluded Cargo Contract (ECC) code into the FWB for all applicable e-AWB shipments and on-forward the FWB to the ground handling agent at the destination port.

The process for accepting eAWB differs country to country. eAWB acceptance by Customs.