SriLankan Cargo joins e-freight world with web-based airway bills

SRILANKAN AIRLINES has introduced electronic cargo booking and scanning facilities at international airport at Katunayake north of Colombo, reports Lanka Business Online.


SriLankan Cargo is modernising its cargo centre at the international airport north of Colombo to improve efficiency and strengthen Colombo as an air cargo hub, a statement said.


Among the recent enhancements has been a hand held bar code scanner to upload information on consignments, empowering of freight forwarders to complete bookings on the internet through electronic airway bills.


A closed circuit TV system is to be introduced to enhance security at the cargo centre.


"The bar code scanners capture information from the bar coded labels attached to any piece of cargo and instantly upload directly into the SkyChain system which is accessible throughout SriLankan Cargo's global network," a company statement said.


Electronic airway bills provide freight forwarders with the ability to fill out airway bills for consignments in their own offices, which include bar coded labels provided by SriLankan Cargo, said the company.


SriLankan Cargo, which is the handling agent for all airlines at the airport, last year doubled its capacity with a new building to house a dedicated export terminal, said the report.


This included specialised areas for perishables, courier cargo, pure mail, cold rooms, chiller rooms, a vault for valuables and an animal holding room. The 156,142 tonnes of all types of cargo handled in 2010 was the third highest total handled at the airport in a single year, the airline said.
(Source:http://www.schednet.com)