Air Freight Tracking

Air freight is tracked with the air waybill number, which the airline uses to record events such as acceptance, departure, arrival and release. Enter the number on the airline's cargo tracking page, or use the tracking provided by the company that booked the shipment. The airline's tracking covers the flight, while the truck legs to and from the airports are tracked by the trucking side. For a complete picture, many shippers rely on updates from the company managing the whole shipment, along with proof of delivery.

The air waybill number appears on the air waybill document itself, usually near the top, and is often repeated on the booking confirmation, shipping labels, invoices and email updates from the company that arranged the shipment. It starts with a prefix that identifies the airline, followed by a serial number. If the shipment was booked through a forwarder or broker, you may have a house air waybill number as well. If you cannot find either, ask the company that booked the shipment to provide it.

A master air waybill is issued by the airline and covers the freight it carries on the flight, often a consolidated load made up of several customers' shipments. A house air waybill is issued by the company that booked the shipment and covers one customer's freight within that load. Airline tracking uses the master air waybill number, while the house number is tracked through the company that issued it. A shipment booked directly with an airline may have only a master air waybill.

Air cargo tracking statuses describe each step of the trip. Booked means space is reserved on a flight. Received or accepted means the airline has the freight after screening. Departed means the flight has left, and in transit or transferred usually means a connection. Arrived means the flight has landed and the freight is being unloaded. Ready for pickup or notified means the freight has been released for collection. Delivered may mean released to a driver rather than delivered to the receiver, depending on the airline.

Air freight tracking updates at scan points, such as acceptance, departure and arrival, rather than continuously, so a long flight or a wait between connections can show no change for hours. Updates can also take time to pass between airline and partner systems. A lack of updates can sometimes mean the shipment was split, delayed, rebooked onto a later flight or held for customs. If tracking has not changed for longer than expected, contact the company that booked the shipment so it can check with the airline.

Usually not through the airline. Airline tracking starts when the airline accepts the freight and ends when it releases it, so the truck legs from the shipper to the departure airport and from the arrival airport to the receiver are tracked by the trucking side. The company managing the whole shipment can provide updates at pickup, airport delivery, recovery and final delivery. At the end, the receiver signs and a proof of delivery confirms when the freight actually arrived at the door.

Air cargo tracking updates whenever a new event is recorded, such as the freight being accepted, loaded, flown, unloaded or released. That means updates can come several times in a few hours around departure and arrival, and then not at all during a long flight. How quickly an event appears also depends on the airline's systems and any partner systems that share the data. For time-critical shipments, direct updates from the company managing the shipment are often faster than waiting for the next scan.

The airline prefix is the first part of an air waybill number. It is a numeric code that identifies the airline issuing the air waybill, and it tells you which airline's tracking system holds the shipment's status. The rest of the number is the serial number for that specific shipment. Knowing the prefix helps you choose the right airline tracking page. If you are unsure which airline a prefix belongs to, the company that booked the shipment can confirm it for you.

International air freight shows additional milestones around customs. At origin, export information may need to be filed before the freight flies. At the destination, the freight arrives, the customs entry is filed by a customs broker, any inspection takes place and customs releases the freight once duties and paperwork are cleared. These steps may appear in airline tracking or in updates from the customs broker. A hold at any step can delay release, so having documents ready in advance helps the freight clear quickly.

If an air shipment is late, contact the company that booked it first, since it can check with the airline, the trucking companies and, for international freight, the customs broker. Have the air waybill number and any reference numbers ready. The company can confirm whether the freight was delayed, rebooked onto another flight, split across flights or held, and what the new arrival time is. If the shipment was booked directly with an airline, contact the airline's cargo customer service with the air waybill number.