Cargonaut is the Port Community System (PCS) for air cargo at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol: the neutral platform through which the airport's cargo community exchanges information, from ground handlers and airlines to forwarders and authorities (including customs). Founded in 1986, it's the air-side equivalent of what Portbase is for the seaports. Nexport Logistics handles your air freight through the Nexportal platform, with Schiphol cargo data flowing through Cargonaut.
What it does
- Cargo information exchange across the Schiphol cargo chain: flight, handling and shipment data shared once and reused.
- Customs and handling data, feeding declarations and release at the airport.
- A single community backbone so a shipment's data doesn't have to be re-entered at every handover.
Ownership: Schiphol, not Portbase
A frequent misconception is that Portbase took over Cargonaut. It didn't. Royal Schiphol Group became the full owner of Cargonaut on 1 November 2020 (it had held ~38%; the rest belonged to KLM and Air Cargo Netherlands). Schiphol took full control specifically to renew and accelerate the platform.
So the Dutch picture is: Portbase = sea (Rotterdam/Amsterdam ports), Cargonaut = air (Schiphol). Separate systems, both part of the national logistics data strategy.
The modernisation
After several years of development, Schiphol and Cargonaut launched an upgraded Port Community System with faster data processing, more transparency and alignment with the latest IATA standards. That last point matters: it positions Schiphol's air cargo data exchange for ONE Record, IATA's modern data-sharing standard that became the preferred standard from 1 January 2026.
What it means for air freight
Air cargo lives or dies on speed and accurate handovers. A modern community system means fewer manual re-entries between forwarder, handler, airline and customs. Fewer delays, fewer errors, and data that's ready for the digital standards now becoming the norm in air cargo.
How Nexport Logistics handles it
We arrange your air shipments via Schiphol with the cargo data running through Cargonaut and surfaced to you in Nexportal: booking, status and customs lined up in one place.
Shipping air freight via Schiphol? Email info@nexportlogistics.nl and we'll take it from there.
Official sources: Schiphol — Royal Schiphol Group full owner of Cargonaut · Schiphol — updated IT cargo platform. Related: Air Freight · Portbase · Iata