Cathay Cargo has introduced an AI-assisted screening capability designed to help identify potential permit and trade-control requirements earlier in the air cargo shipment process, as carriers and customers navigate increasingly complex import, export and transhipment regulations.
The new capability uses AI-assisted language analysis to assess shipment information against relevant trade-control requirements. Unlike conventional systems that rely primarily on keyword matching, the technology is designed to interpret the context of goods descriptions and identify potential links to applicable control-list requirements.
Cathay Cargo said the additional layer of digital screening is intended to give customers greater visibility of possible regulatory obligations while providing frontline teams with clearer information to support follow-up action.
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Moving beyond keyword-based screening
Trade-control requirements can vary according to the nature of the goods, origin, destination and transit points involved in a shipment. Cathay Cargo has previously highlighted the growing complexity of advance cargo information and regulatory requirements, including import and export controls and pre-loading advance cargo information regimes in multiple markets.
The new AI-assisted capability is designed to analyse shipment descriptions in greater context rather than simply searching for individual terms.
Cathay Cargo said this approach provides an additional layer of digital decision support during shipment acceptance, helping improve screening consistency and identify potential compliance requirements before cargo moves through the network.
The system does not replace the responsibilities of shippers. Customers remain responsible for providing accurate and complete declarations, while human oversight continues to form an integral part of the screening process.
Cathay Cargo’s existing compliance procedures already require customers to provide accurate air waybill information and confirm that commodities subject to trade controls have the appropriate licences. The carrier also conducts compliance and regulatory checks on shipments.
Clearer information for frontline teams
Alongside the AI-assisted screening capability, Cathay Cargo has redesigned the operational display used by frontline teams.
The new interface brings screening information together in a clearer format, allowing staff to see why a shipment has been flagged and what follow-up action may be required.
According to Cathay Cargo, the changes are intended to help teams assess alerts more quickly and prioritise cases requiring additional attention before cargo progresses through the network.
The development reflects a broader push by the carrier to apply artificial intelligence to operational and compliance processes. Cathay Cargo has previously described the use of AI in areas including safety analytics and enhanced screening for potentially misdeclared or undeclared lithium batteries.
AI supports, rather than replaces, compliance expertise
Dominic Perret, Director Cargo at Cathay, said greater certainty around regulatory obligations is increasingly important as global trade requirements evolve.
“As global trade requirements continue to evolve, what customers value most is certainty — knowing that obligations are identified before a shipment moves, not after,” Perret said.
He said the combination of AI-assisted screening and clearer operational information would help Cathay Cargo identify potential compliance requirements earlier, maintain accurate shipment information and support safe and reliable cargo movements.
The emphasis on combining automated analysis with human expertise is consistent with Cathay Cargo’s broader approach to AI. In an earlier discussion of its AI strategy, the carrier described the use of large language models to explore import and export-control checks, including determining whether licences are required for certain commodities.
Responding to increasingly complex trade controls
The development comes as air cargo operators and freight forwarders face an expanding range of data, security, customs and trade-control requirements.
Cathay Cargo already provides guidance covering a number of advance cargo information regimes, including US Air Cargo Advance Screening (ACAS), European Union ICS2 requirements and UAE pre-loading advance cargo information. Its guidance notes that requirements can extend to detailed commodity descriptions and, in some jurisdictions, additional information such as HS codes.
For shipments moving through multiple jurisdictions, the regulatory picture can become particularly complex. A shipment may encounter requirements at its origin, destination and an intermediate transhipment point, creating additional compliance considerations for shippers, forwarders and carriers.
Cathay Cargo said the latest capability is intended to make these requirements more transparent to customers and operational teams, while maintaining human review of potential compliance issues.
Perret said the carrier would continue refining the technology through operational feedback and compliance reviews.
“Pairing digital intelligence with operational expertise creates better outcomes for customers, regulators and the wider air cargo community,” he said.
Part of a wider digital transformation
The initiative forms part of Cathay Cargo’s wider digitalisation programme, which includes tools covering shipment management, customs visibility, cargo operations and safety.
In October 2025, Cathay Cargo announced that it had become the first airline to provide real-time customs-clearance status through IATA ONE Record for customers using the EzyCargo platform or existing ONE Record API connections. The development was aimed at improving visibility around customs approvals during the cargo journey.
Cathay Cargo has also continued to expand its use of AI in terminal operations. Its digitalisation programme currently includes AI-assisted lithium-battery screening, AI-enhanced CCTV and predictive safety analysis.
The latest trade-compliance application extends that technology strategy into an area where accurate shipment descriptions and early identification of regulatory requirements can directly affect cargo acceptance and movement.
