Electronic Air Waybill (e-AWB) penetration finally breached the 50% mark in April as more than 730,000 of the digital documents were processed.
The latest IATA figures show that April’s e-AWB penetration level on feasible trade lanes edged up by 1.3 percentage points compared with March to reach 50.7%, exceeding the 50% mark for the first time. In total, 730,762 e-AWBs were processed during the month.
According to IATA’s monthly report, Kenya Airways and Flydubai both managed to process 100% of air waybills electronically, while Cathay Pacific managed 80.5% and Delta Air Lines 74.7%.
For forwarders, Expeditors led the pack with a 69.4% penetration level, just ahead of Hellmann Worldwide on 67.9% and Schenker on 62.5%.
While news that the industry has finally breached the 50% mark will be welcomed, there is a long way to go if the sector is to meet IATA’s target for the end of the year of 62%.
The industry missed its target of 56% for last year.
