Lufthansa Cargo the first airline to support the eDGD standard – Pilot phase of Dakosy’s INFr8 shipping portal successfully launched

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. This makes Lufthansa Cargo the first (and so far only) 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 www.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.

About Fraport AG and Frankfurt Airport
One of the leading players in the global airport businesss, Fraport AG offers a wide range of operational and management solutions based on over 90 years of aviation expertise. Fraport’s portfolio of companies spans four continents with activities at 30 airports worldwide. In business year 2016, the Fraport Group generated sales of €2.59 billion and profit of about €400 million. More than 145 million passengers in 2017 used airports in which Fraport has more than a 50 percent stake. In its Mission Statement, Fraport places the focus on customers. The Group’s commitment to ensuring a “good trip” to all passengers and travelers is also reflected in the corporate slogan: “Gute Reise! We make it happen”. This applies to all of Fraport’s business activities and services at Germany’s largest aviation hub in Frankfurt and the Group’s airports worldwide. At its Frankfurt Airport (FRA) home base, Fraport welcomed more than 64 million passengers and handled about 2.2 million metric tons of cargo (airfreight and airmail) in 2017. For the current winter timetable, FRA is served by 89 passenger airlines flying to 262 destinations in 100 countries worldwide. With 128 intercontinental destinations, almost half of all destinations are intercontinental (beyond Europe) – underscoring Frankfurt’s role as a leading hub in the global air transportation system. In Europe, Frankfurt Airport ranks second in terms of cargo tonnage and is the fourth busiest for passenger traffic. With about 55 percent of all passengers using Frankfurt as a connecting hub, FRA also has the highest transfer rate among the major European hubs.

Frankfurt Airport City has become Germany’s largest job complex at a single location, employing approximately 81,000 people at some 450 companies and organizations on site. Almost half of Germany’s population lives within a 200-kilometer radius of the FRA intermodal travel hub – the largest airport catchment area in Europe. FRA also serves as a magnet for other companies located throughout the economically vital Frankfurt/Rhine-Main-Neckar region. Thanks to synergies associated with the region’s dynamic industries, networked expertise, and outstanding intermodal transportation infrastructure, FRA’s world route network enables Germany’s export-oriented businesses to flourish in global markets. Likewise, FRA is a key gateway for companies wanting to access the huge European marketplace. Thus, Frankfurt Airport – which is strategically located in the heart of Europe – is one of the most important hubs in the global logistics chain.

About Lufthansa Cargo AG
Lufthansa Cargo ranks among the world’s leading air freight carriers. In the 2017 business year, the airline transported around 1.6 million tonnes of freight and mail and sold 8.9 billion revenue tonne-kilometres. The company currently employs about 4,500 people worldwide. Lufthansa Cargo focuses on the airport-to-airport business. The cargo carrier serves around 300 destinations in more than 100 countries with its own fleet of freighters, the belly capacities of passenger aircraft operated by Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and Eurowings, and an extensive road feeder service network. The bulk of the cargo business is routed through Frankfurt Airport. Lufthansa Cargo is a wholly owned Lufthansa subsidiary of Deutsche Lufthansa AG.

Internet: www.lufthansa-cargo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lufthansacargoag
Instagram: www.instagram.com/lufthansacargoag
YouTube: www.youtube.com/LHCargoAG
Linkedin: de.linkedin.com/company/lufthansa-cargo

About DAKOSY AG
DAKOSY Datenkommunikationssystem AG operates the Cargo Community System (FAIR@Link) for Frankfurt Airport and the Port Community System for the Port of Hamburg. Through cross-company communication, these digital platforms enable all participating companies and authorities to plan and efficiently handle transport processes. As one of the leading software companies for logistics, DAKOSY also offers digital solutions for international freight forwarding and customs clearance.

Media contacts

DAKOSY AG
Katrin Woywod, Head of marketing and public relations, Mattenwiete 2, 20457 Hamburg, Tel.: +49 40 37003-0, woywod@dakosy.de, www.dakosy.de

Fraport AG
Lisa Naumann, Unternehmenskommunikation Media Relations, 60547 Frankfurt am Main, Tel.: +49 69 690-31179, l.naumann@fraport.de, www.fraport.de

Lufthansa Cargo AG
Andreas Pauker, Head of PR and Internal Communications, Frankfurt Airport, Gate 21 60546 Frankfurt am Main, Tel.: +49 69 696-95537, andreas.pauker@dlh.de, www.lufthansa-cargo.com