Lufthansa Cargo embraces digital data transfer, accelerates operations

June 5, 2019: Lufthansa Cargo has accelerated its operations digitally through its eFreight initiative. As part of the initiative, it is offering self-service terminals and related apps for mobile devices as well as the digital transfer of shipment data and status updates between the airline and customers.

The service is available to customers at the Lufthansa Cargo Center in Frankfurt and another 15 stations in Germany and abroad. It will be rolled out to further locations in the months ahead.

The PreCheck service verifies the completeness and consistency of the data transferred, which boosts data quality, significantly reduces laborious and time-consuming corrections during cargo acceptance and can even help to prevent returns.

“We are delighted to have again created genuine added value for our customers with our new digital services. We are striding into the digital future of the air cargo industry with our customers – with offerings that are faster, simpler and less error-prone,” said Dr Jan-Wilhelm Breithaupt, Lufthansa Cargo vice president global handling management.

Lufthansa Cargo customers are sent an electronic shipment status update, followed by a green light in real time to deliver or collect their goods. The company hope that this would eliminate waiting times for truck drivers in the future, which will allow customers to deploy trucks even more efficiently. On arrival, drivers can check in at a self-service terminal and get their ramp assignment.

In selected locations, parcels are registered via scanner during cargo acceptance. Smartgate, a fully automated volume scanner, automatically determines the size and weight of the parcels.