The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has launched DG Digital, a new digital solution integrated into the existing DG AutoCheck platform. The tool enables the complete electronic creation, transmission and approval of dangerous‑goods declarations for more than 3,800 regulated items, ranging from lithium batteries to explosives and chemicals.
Today, about 95 % of dangerous‑goods declarations are still submitted on paper, requiring scanning, conversion to PDF and manual upload into DG AutoCheck. DG Digital eliminates these steps by allowing shippers to generate and send declarations digitally, resulting in faster processing, higher safety standards and a marked drop in rejected shipments.
The system automatically captures all mandatory data and cross‑checks it against IATA’s Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR). Users can instantly spot missing or incorrect information that could cause a shipment to be delayed or refused, helping to avoid costly fines and safety incidents.
A pilot carried out in Japan last year demonstrated the benefits: with airlines ANA and JAL and six freight forwarders participating, the rejection rate fell to just 0.5 % compared with the global average of 4.5 % for dangerous‑goods shipments.
Since its launch in 2019, DG AutoCheck has performed more than one million checks, with over a third of those conducted in 2025 alone. The same year saw a 17.5 % year‑on‑year increase in dangerous‑goods volumes, driven largely by the growing demand for lithium‑battery transport.
“IATA’s Dangerous Goods Regulations aim to simplify procedures while enhancing safety. DG Digital supports this goal by digitising the shipper’s declaration, giving airlines, freight forwarders, ground handlers and other stakeholders access to the same verified document, which speeds up issue resolution before the cargo moves,” said Frederic Leger, Senior Vice President, Product & Services, IATA.
Source: www.iata.org
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