Cathay Cargo has become the first airline to implement the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) ONE Record data-sharing standard in its daily operations with freight forwarders, achieving this milestone a year before IATA’s January 2026 target.
The airline announced that, starting in December 2024, three freight forwarders on the Chinese Mainland – Sinotrans Air Freight, WECAN International Freight Forwarding International Logistics, and ALL-LINK Logistics – began exchanging electronic air waybill (eAWB) and shipment status information with Cathay Cargo. This exchange utilizes an application programming interface (API) designed to be compatible with ONE Record data protocols. In January 2025, Sinotrans Hong Kong Air Transportation Development became the first Hong Kong-based forwarder to participate.
IATA’s ONE Record initiative aims to create a more transparent and efficient system for managing air cargo shipments. It allows for end-to-end visibility by logging the progress of consignments as they move through various stages of the supply chain, including shippers, agents, airlines, warehouses, and customs authorities. This is achieved through standardized APIs that enable secure data sharing among stakeholders.
“These successful real-world use cases demonstrate the continuing commitment of Cathay Cargo to taking a leadership role in the digitalisation of the air-cargo shipment process,” said Cathay Director Cargo Tom Owen. “We are well positioned to meet IATA’s ONE Record implementation target of January 2026.”
Sinotrans used a digital interface, designed and hosted by Global Logistics System (HK) Company Limited (GLS), Cathay Cargo’s innovation partner, to upload eAWB information through ONE Record. This connection allows stakeholders to access a wider range of data than the standard departure and arrival information typically available through the traditional Cargo Interchange Message Procedure (CIMP).
“We are thrilled to be the first cargo forwarder to partner with Cathay in the roll-out of ONE Record for data communication,” said Sinotrans Director of Digitalisation Wen Xuan Zang. “This innovative approach will enhance efficiency and transparency in cargo shipment processes.”
IATA Head of Digital Cargo Henk Mulder highlighted the importance of unified data. He stated that all the data becomes meaningful only when it can be considered together, within the context of one shipment. He also said he was “delighted to see this real-world production example of communication between different cargo stakeholders.”
Cathay will look to expand the project to other forwarders.
“At Cathay Cargo, we know how important it is to work with our customers to increase the transparency and data connectivity of air cargo,” added Owen.
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