Air France KLM Cargo (AFKL Cargo) has become the first airline group to adopt the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) newly developed Dangerous Goods AutoCheck (DG AutoCheck) for the acceptance of dangerous goods shipments.

"Air France KLM Cargo handle in excess of 1.5 million shipments per year, 173,000 of these shipments require Dangerous Goods handling. DG AutoCheck provides a digital solution to more effectively manage the transport of dangerous goods by air for our customers while at the same time enhancing safety and compliance. It is another significant step in AFKL Cargo's commitment towards a digital transformation of the air freight business model, and we will work closely with our ground handling partners to expand the use of DG AutoCheck beyond our hubs," said Marcel de Nooijer, Executive Vice President of Air France KLM Cargo.

DG AutoCheck is a digital solution that facilitates the acceptance of Dangerous Goods by checking the compliance of the Shipper's Declaration for Dangerous Goods (DGD) against all relevant rules and regulations contained in the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR). Optical character recognition technology transforms the paper DGD into electronic data. DG AutoCheck can also receive electronic Shipper's Declaration for Dangerous Goods (e-DGD). This data is then processed and verified automatically using the digital version of the DGR.

DG AutoCheck also facilitates a ground handler's or airline's decision to accept or reject a shipment during the physical inspection stage by providing a pictorial representation of the package with the marking and labelling required for air transport. For example, DG AutoCheck helps DG acceptance staff to check if all prerequisites for acceptance are met on shipments of lithium batteries. Due to an increase in the transportation of lithium batteries worldwide and the difference in type, packaging and safety hazard of these batteries, DG AutoCheck has a distinct added value in safety and efficiency.

"Air cargo demand is forecast to double over the next 20 years. To ensure that the industry is ready to benefit from this growth, modern and harmonized standards that facilitate safe, secure and efficient operations, particularly in relation to the carriage of dangerous goods need to be implemented. In becoming first adopters of DG AutoCheck Air France KLM Cargo are leading the way among their peers in the digital evolution of the dangerous goods supply chain and setting themselves up for future success," said Frederic Leger, IATA's Director Airport, Passenger, Cargo, Security Products.

AFKL Cargo is part of an industry working group made up of more than twenty global organizations supporting the development of DG AutoCheck. This group contains airlines, freight forwarders, ground handlers and express integrators.

Contributed by IATA