The pace of e-AWB adoption has been steadily on the rise since 2014, according to IATA. August 2014 was the single fastest e-AWB growth in one month, with 2 per cent achieved globally. Adoption speed is now four times that of the same period last year, and this acceleration is felt across the board, with strong recent growth in Africa, Americas, Europe and North Asia.

Twenty airlines have now achieved over 20 per cent e-AWB penetration – compared to only seven airlines at the beginning of the 2014.

In airports such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Doha, Addis Ababa and Dubai, e-AWB penetration now exceeds the 50 per cent mark, while many other airports show penetrations in the range of 30 and 40 per cent.

The top 10 airlines that contributed to the sharp rise include South Africa Airlines, Saudi Arabia Airlines, EgyptAir, Sri Lankan, Delta Airlines, United Airlines, China Airlines, Air France, Air Canada, and IAG.

Contributing to this acceleration are the joint industry initiatives launched in the Nordics, India, USA, Germany and others helped in accelerating the e-AWB adoption. It is expected that e-AWB adoption will even grow further as more than 77 airlines and 1,300 freight forwarders already signed up for the initiative.