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IATA: Dangerous Goods Declarations Go Digital

[ March 13, 2026   //   ]

International Air Transport Association said March 12 it has launched a digital platform designed to eliminate paper-based declarations for air shipments of hazardous materials; a move the airline trade group says will improve safety and reduce delays in the handling of dangerous goods.

The new system, called DG Digital, allows shippers to create and submit dangerous goods declarations electronically through the association’s existing DG AutoCheck validation tool. The platform covers more than 3,800 regulated items, including lithium batteries, explosives and chemicals.

The organization said the system enables declarations to be generated and transmitted digitally from the shipper through validation, replacing a process that still relies heavily on paper documentation.

Currently, about 95 percent of dangerous goods declarations are submitted in paper format, the association said. Those documents typically must be scanned and converted into PDF files before they can be uploaded into the validation system, adding time and administrative complexity.

The new tool captures all required information for a dangerous goods declaration and allows participants in the air cargo supply chain to exchange the data electronically. The platform also cross references requirements contained in the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations to help identify errors or missing documentation that could lead to shipment rejection.

By validating documentation before cargo is physically shipped, the system is intended to reduce safety risks and prevent fines associated with noncompliant shipments, the association said.

The launch follows pilot trials conducted in Japan in 2025 involving carriers including All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines along with several freight forwarders. During the trials, only 0.5 percent of dangerous goods shipments were rejected due to documentation issues, compared with a current global average rejection rate of 4.5 percent, according to the association.

The platform builds on DG AutoCheck, introduced in 2019, which has processed more than one million dangerous goods checks. More than one-third of those checks occurred in 2025 as shipments of hazardous cargo increased.

Data from IATA CargoIS shows dangerous goods shipments rose 17.5 percent in 2025 compared with the previous year, driven largely by rising demand for lithium battery transport.

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