Air Way Bill (AWB)

The Air Way Bill (AWB) is the English term for an air waybill. This is a document that lists and confirms essential information about the air freight carried.
The Air Way Bill has various functions: it serves as proof of the conclusion of an air freight contract and the sender’s agreement to the conditions of carriage, represents the carrier’s confirmation of receipt, is the basis for accounting for air freight costs and is used as a document for customs clearance. At the same time, the AWB contains information on the liability of the carrier and may also be an insurance certificate. With the AWB, the sender issues instructions to the carrier for the handling and delivery of the transported goods.
It is common to combine several shipments and transport them as groupage. A House Air Way Bill (HAWB) is then created for each individual shipment and an additional Master Air Way Bill (MAWB) for the combined shipment.
With the IATA Direct AWB, only one consignment from a sender is transported to a destination and delivered there to a recipient.