Cathay Cargo announced a new milestone for IATA's ONE Record after being used on a sea-to-air shipment for the first time in Dongguan.

In a statement, the carrier said it accepts shipment in the Greater Bay Area using IATA ONE Record protocols before journey by sea and unloading for export from Hong Kong International Airport.

"Cathay Cargo has worked with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) on a pilot scheme to offer ONE Record data protocols for intermodal shipments accepted at the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) Logistics Park in Dongguan in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) for export from Hong Kong," Cathay Cargo said.

"This marks the first time that IATA ONE Record data milestones, including security status, have been made available for a sea-to-air shipment, and with cargo acceptance logged outside the origin airport’s cargo terminal," it added.

IATA's ONE Record enables end-to-end transparency for consignments, logging progress as they pass through multiple links in the chain from shipper to agent, airline, warehouse and statutory authorities such as customs, following IATA's protocols for APIs — the interface that enables users to connect to the system and share data in a secure way.

"This latest pilot scheme demonstrates that Cathay Cargo continues to be a trailblazer in terms of digitalising systems ready for the ONE Record implementation in 2026. It also shows ONE Record's value in enabling services such as Ultra Track and other use cases that we are continuing to explore," said Tom Owen, Cathay Director Cargo.

He added that the pilot showed ONE Record's flexibility, and being able to accept cargo from an upstream cargo terminal and then log its transit by boat was a world first.

"Our new Cathay Cargo Terminal facility in Dongguan, together with its innovative solutions and technology, played a vital role in the project, and it will bring benefits to all parties and stakeholders for intermodal cargo operations in the GBA," Owen said.

The announcement noted that the pilot scheme saw air-cargo shipments bound for Bangkok, Manila, and Tokyo from forwarder Yusen Logistics accepted at the Cathay Cargo Terminal Dongguan and passed through AAHK security there.

That acceptance is registered as an acceptance milestone on the data journey in ONE Record.

It added that the system then generated data notices when the bonded shipments were unloaded for export at HKIA. From there, the shipments triggered the normal ONE Record shipment milestones as they completed their journey to collection by the eventual consignees.

Speaking for Yusen, Cyrus Chan, manager air freight forwarding division, said, "ONE Record will really help enhance the collaboration among supply chain stakeholders, especially for shipments from the GBA, and it will improve visibility for our customers."

"ONE Record is gaining traction and will become the global standard, and we are keen to be an early adopter to align with industry best practices and future developments in air cargo operations," he said.

Max Xie, regional vice president of North Asia for IATA, said the pilot brings ONE Record to a new level, demonstrating the effectiveness of the standard in supporting the intermodal transport of cargo.

"When fully implemented, this will further strengthen Hong Kong's status as a key air cargo hub," Xie added.

Cissy Chan, executive director of commercial at AAHK, said digitalisation is the key to further enhancing operational efficiency in today's complex supply chain landscape.

"AAHK will continue to leverage the community-based HKIA Cargo Data Platform to drive digital transformation and reinforce HKIA's competitive position as a leading smart aviation hub," Chan added.