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 healthcare giant Abbott Diagnostics 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. Currently, this makes the Frankfurt-based cargo carrier the first airline to support the eDGD standard.
“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,” said Sören Stark, Board Member Operations and COO of Lufthansa Cargo.
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 a pleased Ulrich Wrage, CEO of DAKOSY AG, 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 AG, responsible for providing and operating the airport’s infrastructure, has contributed significantly to the development of the portal.
“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,” said Anke Giesen, Executive Director Operations at Fraport AG, welcoming the launch of the shipping portal.
The dangerous goods process has traditionally been paper-based due to the lack of digital standards. Dangerous Goods Declarations 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 ironed 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.
The pilot phase of the INFr8 platform, available at infr8.de, is expected to last six months. After this, the platform will become a standard tool available to all market participants interested in using it. There are already plans to expand the portal through the addition of further product groups.
