Iata in e-freight talks with SA stakeholders

THE INTERNATIONAL Air Transport Association (Iata) has identified 11 new locations for its e-freight initiative. These include USA, Dubai, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Iceland, Denmark and Norway. Questioned on when South Africa was likely to be considered, manager corporate communications, Lorne Riley, told FTW that until a country had passed the Detailed Level Assessment it was difficult to project a timeline. Project director Steve Smith however said that the organisation was actively engaged with the stakeholders in South Africa, including customs, and would complete the DLA in the next couple of months. “At that stage we will have a better view on its status,” he told FTW. Since 2007, e-freight has been operational in Canada, Sweden, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Netherlands. Germany, Mauritius and South Korea have launched projects to go live within 2008. Five of the 11 new locations will be selected to launch e-freight in 2008 with the remaining targeted for launch in 2009. “The momentum to rid air cargo of costly paper processes is building quickly,” said Giovanni Bisignani, director general and CEO of Iata. “We are live in six locations today. We will be operating at 14 locations by year-end.” IATA e-freight requires that business, technical and legal frameworks are in place to allow airlines, freight forwarders, customs administrations and governments to seamlessly exchange electronic information and e-documents instead of paper.