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e-AWB · eFTI · DGR · IATA · ISAGO

Air Cargo: The Document
Is Digital. The Person Isn't.

e-AWB adoption exceeds 80-95%. Air cargo leads freight digitalization. But identity challenges persist at every edge: who loaded the cargo, who signed the dangerous goods declaration, and who is the truck driver at the airport exit.

Book a Demo → See the 3 Identity Edges
AIR CARGO BY THE NUMBERS
e-AWB adoption80-95%
Ground handling digitalized~30%
Worker identity verified digitallyLow

The document went digital. The people handling cargo didn't. Most cargo terminals still rely on badge-and-PIN systems for worker identity.

"Adopting Verifiable Credentials and Decentralized Identifiers is a natural next step in reinforcing security, trust, and efficiency. The technology is ready and proven."

Nick Careen, SVP Operations, Safety & Security

IATA · Sydney Leaders Week, March 2025

THREE IDENTITY EDGES

Where Documents Are Digital but People Are Not

Air cargo solved the document. The e-AWB is standard. But identity gaps persist at three critical edges — where the physical world meets the digital system.

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EDGE 1

Ground Handling

Warehouse workers, forklift operators, load planners, ramp agents — the people who physically handle cargo. They're international staff from dozens of countries. They access restricted airside zones. They handle pharmaceuticals, electronics, valuables. Their identity verification is still badge-and-PIN.

Passenger terminals invested heavily in biometric kiosks. Cargo terminals? Still catching up. The security gap between passenger and cargo operations is widening.

IdentiGate: Passport-verified identity for every ground handler. Access control, handling authorization, security compliance — one scan, any nationality.

Lithium batteries, chemicals, radioactive materials, dry ice. Every DGR shipment requires a Shipper's Declaration and an acceptance check by certified personnel. The person signing must be identified, their DGR certification valid, the chain traceable.

If something goes wrong at 35,000 feet, regulators need to know exactly who accepted that shipment and whether they were qualified. Paper-based DGR compliance is slow, error-prone, and nearly impossible to audit in real-time.

IdentiGate: Verified signatory + real-time DGR cert validity + cryptographic timestamp on every acceptance. Traceable. Court-ready.

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EDGE 2

Dangerous Goods

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EDGE 3

Air ↔ Road

Every air shipment that doesn't end at the airport enters the road network. The truck driver at the cargo terminal exit signs an eCMR. IdentiGate's air identity becomes road identity, seamlessly.

No single system covers this handover today. Airport systems don't extend to the truck. eCMR platforms don't extend to the airport. IdentiGate bridges both — one passport scan works on the ramp and on the road.

IdentiGate: Same identity from cargo terminal to truck cabin. Air ↔ road handover with zero re-verification. One API, two modes.

CARGO SECURITY

Fake Carriers. Deepfake IDs. Spoofed Manifests. Cargo Security Must Become Identity-First.

In 2025, strategic cargo theft expanded sharply. Fake carriers passed surface-level verification. Drivers arrived with forged credentials. Spoofed emails altered dispatch instructions. Deepfake IDs became repeatable techniques.

The response must be architectural: binding people to verified devices, validating identity at every custody transfer, digitally authenticating every handover. Identity isn't an add-on to cargo security — it's the foundation.

"Cargo protection must move away from manual oversight and toward autonomous, identity-secure, multi-layer detection. This shift is architectural, not incremental."

Cargo Security Trends Report 2026

ContGuard · January 2026

Identity for Every Person
Who Touches Your Cargo.

From DGR acceptance to ground handling access to the truck at the exit gate. What air cargo needs today, and what the smart terminal demands tomorrow.

SOLVE TODAY
👷

Ground Handler Identity

Passport-verified identity for every ramp agent, warehouse worker, load planner. Restricted zone access, cargo handling authorization, ISAGO compliance — biometric, not badge-and-PIN.

Identity Verification · Authentication
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DGR Signatory Compliance

Shipper's declaration + acceptance check: both need verified signatories. Real-time DGR cert validity before acceptance. Cryptographic timestamp on every dangerous goods decision.

Cert Validity Check · Timestamp · Multi Signatures
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Company & Agent Identity

Is this ground handler ISAGO-certified? Is this forwarder IATA-accredited? Company-level identity seals create an auditable trail of which entity handled cargo at each stage — supporting ISAGO audit requirements, IATA accreditation checks, and Regulated Agent compliance. Anti-fraud from the first touchpoint.

Company Identity · Company Signature
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Air ↔ Road Handover

Truck driver signs eCMR with the same identity used on the ramp. Zero re-verification. Cargo terminal → road → last mile. One continuous identity chain.

Authentication · Signing Portal · Multi Signatures
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Timestamped Audit Trail

Who accepted cargo and when? Who loaded it? Who screened it? Cryptographic timestamps on every custody transfer. Insurance, regulatory audits, incident investigations — provable.

Timestamp · Digital Evidence Layer
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Terminal Batch Operations

Morning sort: 200 AWBs, 50 DGR checks, 30 customs declarations. Sign all at once. Security screening confirmations in bulk. Scale without adding headcount.

Batch Signing · Company Signature
TOMORROW'S EDGE
The industry isn't here yet. Our architecture already is.
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Identity of Things

The same cryptographic framework that verifies a ground handler already extends to physical assets. ULD containers, IoT temperature sensors for pharma cold chains, GSE equipment — each can receive a verifiable identity today. As smart terminals adopt IoT, the authentication layer is ready.

ULDs · IoT · GSE · Temperature chain
✦ Deployable today — waiting for industry adoption
🔐

Zero-Knowledge Security

Our split-key architecture natively supports zero-knowledge proofs. Prove security clearance without revealing personal data. Confirm DGR certification without exposing the certificate. As aviation security tightens under IATA's Aviation Security Trust Framework, privacy-preserving verification is built in.

Clearance · DGR certs · Background checks
✦ Deployable today — waiting for industry adoption
🌐

Universal Airport Identity

IdentiGate identities are already airport-agnostic — built on biometric passports, not on per-airport badge systems. A handler verified at Frankfurt is cryptographically the same person at Dubai or JFK. Changes employer, identity stays. As IATA's One ID vision expands to cargo, the identity layer is ready.

Cross-airport · Portable · Employer-independent
✦ Deployable today — waiting for industry adoption
179
countries covered
90s
identity creation
3
identity edges solved
AdES
eIDAS compliant
0
government dependency

Building Identity for Air Cargo?

Ground handling access, DGR compliance, air-to-road handover, or terminal-wide identity — let's explore how IdentiGate fills the gap between digital documents and the people who handle them.

Book a Demo →