Air Cargo Manifest [Updated 2024] | Trade Finance Global

    • Themes
      • Trade

        Do you want to know how access to trade finance can increase your cross-border imports and exports? Explore our Trade Finance hub for practical tools.

        Treasury

        Are you a treasury or operations manager looking to mitigate the risks and efficiently manage your business’ cash flow? If so, check out our Treasury Management hub.

        Payments

        Whether you want updates from infrastructure support to cross-border transactions or clearing house operations to processing techniques, you can find all on our Payments hub.

        Letters of Credit

        Ready to to increase your imports / exports to guarantee the payment and delivery of goods? Find out more about LCs here.

        Shipping & Logistics

        Whether you’re transporting goods, or learning about supply chains, warehousing, transportation and packaging, we’ve got you covered.

        Incoterms

        Need to know which International Commerce Term is right for your needs? Explore our curated guides from shipping expert Bob Ronai.

        Sustainability

        Prioritising sustainable supply chains? Building inclusive trade? Working towards the UN’s 2030 SDGs? Read the latest on global sustainable standards vs green-washing here.

        Customs

        Heading into international markets? From the correct documentation to standardisation, here’s what you need to know for a streamlined customs clearance process.

        TradeTech

        TradeTech is rapidly evolving to help reduce some of the biggest challenges when it comes to trade. Keep up with these innovations here.

    •  

       

    • News & Insights
      • News

        The latest in Trade, Treasury & Payments - stay up to date on all the changes across the globe.

        Magazines

        The issues feature experts across the industry on the latest developments with specific themed and regional editions.

        Articles

        Insights by the industry, for the industry. These include thought leadership pieces, interview write ups and Q&As.

        Guides

        Working closely with industry experts and trade practitioners we provide inclusive educational guides to improve your technical knowledge and expertise in global trade.

        Research & Data

        We undertake qualitative and quantitative research across various verticals in trade, as well as create reports with industry association partners to provide in-depth analysis.

        Trade Finance Talks

        Subscribe to our market-leading updates on trade, treasury & payments. Join the TFG community of 160k+ monthly readers for unrivalled access in your inbox.

    • Media
      • Podcasts

        Welcome to Trade Finance Talks! On our series we hear from global experts in trade, treasury & payments.

        Shorts

        Enjoy our bite-sized video content for insights on-the-go with our short VoxPop & summary series.

        Webinars

        Experience the true nature of the TFG community through panel discussions on the latest developments - engage with questions.

        Videos

        Join us as we interview leaders in international trade, treasury, payments and more! Watch and learn.

    • Events
      • Partner Conferences

        We partner with industry conferences around the world to ensure that you don’t miss out on any event; in person or online, add to your calendar now.

        Women in Trade, Treasury & Payments

        Get involved in our most important campaign of the year, celebrating the achievements of women in our industry and promoting gender equity and equality.

        Awards

        Our excellence awards in trade, treasury, and payments are like no other. You can't sponsor them, and they're independently judged. They are the most sought-after industry accolades.

        Online Events

        Join our virtual webinars and community events. Catch up on-demand, right here on TFG.

    • Editions
    • Finance Products
      • Trade Finance

        Trade finance is a tool that can be used to unlock capital from a company’s existing stock, receivables, or purchase orders. Explore our hub for more.

        Invoice Finance

        A common form of business finance where funds are advanced against unpaid invoices prior to customer payment

        Supply Chain Finance

        Also known as SCF, this is a cash flow solution which helps businesses free up working capital trapped in global supply chains.

        Bills of Lading

        BoL, BL or B/L, is a legal document that provides multiple functions to make shipping more secure.

        Letters of Credit

        A payment instrument where the issuing bank guarantees payment to the seller on behalf of the buyer, provided the seller meets the specified terms and conditions.

        Stock Finance

        The release of working capital from stock, through lenders purchasing stock from a seller on behalf of the buyer.

        Factoring

        This allows a business to grow and unlock cash that is tied up in future income

        Receivables Finance

        A tool that businesses can use to free up working capital which is tied up in unpaid invoices.

        Purchase Order Finance

        This is commonly used for trading businesses that buy and sell; having suppliers and end buyers

    •  

       

    • Sectors
    • Case Studies
      • Informing today's market

        Financing tomorrow's trade

        Soft Commodities Trader

        Due to increased sales, a soft commodity trader required a receivables purchase facility for one of their large customers - purchased from Africa and sold to the US.

        Metals Trader

        Purchasing commodities from Africa, the US, and Europe and selling to Europe, a metals trader required a receivables finance facility for a book of their receivables/customers.

        Energy Trading Group

        An energy group, selling mainly into Europe, desired a receivables purchase facility to discount names, where they had increased sales and concentration.

        Clothing company

        Rather than waiting 90 days until payment was made, the company wanted to pay suppliers on the day that the title to goods transferred to them, meaning it could expand its range of suppliers and receive supplier discounts.

        Get Trade Finance

        Informing Today’s Market, Financing tomorrow’s Trade.

    • Get Trade Finance
  • About Us
  • Talk To Us

Air Cargo Manifest

Last updated on 21 Aug 2024
30 Jan 2024 . 2 min read
Brian Canup
Brian Canup is a former Editorial & Research Assistant at Trade Finance Global (TFG). He graduated with an MA in International Political Economy from King’s College London, and a BA in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Access trade, receivables and supply chain finance

We assist companies to access trade and receivables finance through our relationships with 270+ banks, funds and alternative finance houses.

Get Started

Download the incoterms guide

Short-Incoterms-Guide-724×1024
Download

Contents

    An air cargo manifest is a document used in the air freight industry to list and describe all items loaded onto an aircraft. It serves several key purposes.

    What is the purpose of Air Cargo Manifest?

    A cargo flight manifest serves various essential purposes in the air freight industry, including:


    1. Identifying cargo: The manifest provides a comprehensive list of all items or goods loaded onto the aircraft. It facilitates clear identification, detailing descriptions, quantities, and types of goods.

    2. Regulatory compliance: This document is crucial for regulatory adherence, offering evidence that transported items comply with relevant laws, including safety and security regulations. It can also serve as a declaration of cargo content, value, and destination, aiding in customs compliance.

    3. Planning and management: Airline staff rely on the manifest for effective loading and unloading of goods. It guides them to the specific location of items and assists in planning for weight distribution and balance, ensuring safe aircraft operation.

    4. Tracking and accountability: Cargo manifests contribute to supply chain tracking. If discrepancies or issues arise, they help pinpoint when and where problems occurred, facilitating accountability.

    5. Insurance and liability: In the unfortunate event of accidents, damage, or loss, the manifest serves as a record of the aircraft’s cargo. This record is vital for insurance claims and determining liability.

    Source: ICC DSI

    What are the legal considerations?

    1. Customs and border protection: Many countries require manifests for customs processing of imports and exports. This aids in enforcing trade laws, tariff collection, and preventing prohibited item transport. The Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) provides definition of “cargo declaration” and outlines that the carrier shall be held responsible to the Customs for ensuring that all goods are included in the cargo declaration or are brought to the attention of the Customs in another authorised manner.

    2. Transportation safety regulations: Air transport safety is governed by international and national organisations such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in Europe. Manifests help ensure compliance with rules on weight distribution, hazardous materials, and more.

    3. International trade law: When transporting goods between countries, manifests demonstrate adherence to international trade agreements, including tariff regulations, trade restrictions, and treaties.

    4. Liability and insurance: In cases of loss, damage, or disputes, manifests serve as cargo records. They are valuable in legal proceedings related to insurance claims, liability determinations, and contract disputes.

    5. Security and anti-terrorism laws: Many jurisdictions mandate cargo information submission to security agencies before flights to combat smuggling, illegal immigration, and terrorism. Manifests play a key role in meeting these requirements. Inaccurate, incomplete, or fraudulent manifests may result in severe legal penalties, such as fines, goods seizure, license revocation, or criminal charges. Consequently, proper manifest preparation and handling are critical legal concerns for airlines and freight carriers.

    Source: ICC DSI

    What platforms are flight manifest transmitted in?

    Flight manifests are transmitted in various formats, depending on stakeholders’ needs and capabilities:

    1. IATA Cargo Interchange Message Procedures (IMP) or Cargo Extensible Markup Language (XML) Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) systems

    2. Application Programming Interface (API) where airlines and partners have such capabilities

    3. E-mail or web portals when better means are not available

    4. Paper documents in regions with less advanced infrastructure

    Since 2018, IATA has been introducing the ONE Record data sharing standard. It aims to replace messaging standards and platforms with a data-centric standard that retains data at its source. This standard creates transport records by linking necessary data for documents like flight manifests to distributed data sources, making air transport data platform-independent.

    Source: ICC DSI

    Speak to our trade finance team



    • All Topics
    • Key Terms
    • Incoterms Resources
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Conferences
    Latest
    A-Z Latest
    Back to Top