Policy & Compliance
Automation comes to UK airports for freight collections and deliveries
The new CCS-UK Advanced Information System is already bringing benefits for Members at London Heathrow, writes Steve Parker
D on’t miss the boat (please pardon the poor analogy) – those Members using the new CCS-UK Advanced Information System (AIS) at London Heathrow Airport are already reporting reduced waiting times, streamlined processes and improved security. A small number of users are also using AIS in Manchester. At BIFA we want all our Members to be aware of this solution and obtain the benefits. Is automating the UK airports’ freight collection process the best thing since sliced bread? Maybe not, but as you will know the procedure at our airports has not changed fundamentally in years (probably decades) and is long overdue. The need to bring the process up-to-date has become more acute with the plans to redevelop the ‘horseshoe’ area at Heathrow, meaning the space for vehicles will be at even more of a premium than it is already. Best practice guide With all the above in mind, BIFA –working with the Airline Operators Committee, Cargo (AOCC) – is finalising the best practice guide for airport collections. The new guide takes account of electronic solutions like the one built by CCS-UK. The system has been developed and is in live action at Heathrow with a number of forwarders and
“ The need to bring the process up- to-date has become more acute with the plans to redevelop the ‘horseshoe’ area at Heathrow, meaning the space for vehicles will be at even more of a
transit sheds. It enables: • Forwarders and their transport companies to pre-advise the on-airport transit sheds of cargo to be delivered or picked up. • The transit sheds to anticipate the arrival of vehicles and to know what load will be picked up and/or dropped off. • Regular status updates to the forwarder or transport company at specific points. • ‘Air waybill watch’ – the ability to track an AWB of interest and receive updates on the shipment. • Slot bookings, whereby the transit sheds can offer slots for handling drop-offs or pickups and the forwarder or its transport company can book the slot and expect to receive service during this period, thus reducing any wait times. • ‘e-collection notes’. This is one of the developments to progressively move away from
all of the paper involved in the process of collecting and delivering cargo. The e-collection note significantly reduces the opportunity for fraudulent collections and is currently under live trials with a forwarder and a transit shed operator. It will shortly be enhanced to enable the e-collection note to be automatically downloaded to the driver’s mobile phone. For companies using CCS-UK, AIS is free to use. Companies who do not have a CCS-UK badge will need to pay a small annual fee to access AIS. A company will need to sign up just once, but every user will require their own log-in and password. For more information on using AIS contact Guy Thompson (guy.thompson@gthompson.co.uk) or Claudia Carley at BT (claudia.carley@bt.com), or visit https://ccs-uk-
premium than it is already
24 | October 2023
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