e-AWB penetration slips 48.5% in January

The latest e-AWB statistics show that penetration slipped to 48.5% in January compared with 49.2% in December last year.



The volume of e-AWBs processed down in the month, with the industry using 639,582 e-AWBs in January compared with 687,774 in December.



The industry aims to have reached an e-AWB penetration level of 62% by the end of the year. It is not the first time e-AWB usage has declined – in March last year there was also a decline.



As part of the process to encourage further e-AWB adoption by airlines and forwarders, IATA has launched an e-AWB implementation playbook in pdf format, which presents the different steps to go through for successful implementation.



The historic challenges to e-AWB implementation remain and include such factors as e-AWBs are not possible in all airports and all trade lanes due to regulatory limitations.



E-AWB procedures are not harmonised between freight forwarders, airlines and ground handling agents in key airports where e-AWB is live.