In air export there's a leg between the warehouse and the aircraft that most people never see, and it has its own rules. The goods are picked up from (or delivered by) the customer to the screening warehouse/handler we choose for you, the one that does the security screening and makes the cargo ready for carriage. From there a first-line transport still has to bring it to the airline's ground handler at the airport. At Schiphol that hand-over used to travel on a paper ACN bon; now it's digital. As your forwarder, Nexport Logistics picks the screening warehouse/handler and arranges the first-line at Schiphol through the Nexportal platform, so you don't have to choose or coordinate any of it.
What "first line" is
First-line transport (eerstelijns) is the trucking between the off-airport forwarder/screening warehouse and the airline's handling agent on the airport. It's a short but regulated leg: the cargo has already been screened and secured, so it must stay secure until it reaches the handler. (The "second line" is everything inside the airport handling chain.)
Screening & ready for carriage
The warehouse we choose is typically a Regulated Agent (RA), or it handles Known Consignor cargo. There the shipment is security-screened, built up, secured/sealed, and declared "ready for carriage" under the IATA and EU air-cargo security rules, including correct handling of any dangerous goods. Only then does it go first-line to the airline's handler.
The ACN bon, and why it's now digital
The ACN bon (from Air Cargo Netherlands) was the paper document that accompanied the first-line delivery: the proof of delivery, the "handshake" confirming the cargo reached the handler. Schiphol digitised it:
- eLink, the Digital Pre-Notification (Digitaal Vooraanmelden) tool built by Cargonaut together with ACN, has been in use since 1 January 2021.
- The paper ACN bon is phased out (from 1 June 2021): the handshake is now digital. The handler signs receipt electronically, so the forwarder can track the cargo's Ready for Carriage status in real time.
- Since 1 September 2021, digital pre-notification is a fixed part of the ready-for-carriage procedure at Schiphol. Drivers no longer carry stacks of paper to the counter; they head straight to the dock.
What it gets you
Less paper, fewer counter delays, and real-time visibility of whether your export shipment is actually ready for carriage at the handler, instead of phoning to find out. It's the air-cargo equivalent of the digital release moves happening on the sea side.
How Nexport Logistics handles it
We arrange the screening warehouse, the ready-for-carriage build-up and the first-line transport to the airline's handler, with digital pre-notification (eLink) instead of the old paper bon. Your air export is tracked from our warehouse to the handler in Nexportal.
Shipping air export via Schiphol? Email info@nexportlogistics.nl and we'll line up the screening and the first-line for you.
Source: ACN — Air Cargo Netherlands, Digital Pre-Notification / eLink (eLink by Cargonaut & ACN). Related: Air Freight · Cargonaut · Iata · Dangerous Goods