SriLankan Cargo Joins Freightos: New Digital Bridge to South Asian Markets

Rhea-AI Summary

Freightos (NASDAQ: CRGO) announced a strategic partnership with SriLankan Cargo to integrate the airline's cargo services into WebCargo's digital booking and payment platform. The integration, set to launch later in Q3 2025, will provide 10,000+ freight forwarding offices with instant access to SriLankan's air freight capacity across 32 online destinations in 21 countries.

The partnership significantly enhances Freightos' presence in South Asia and provides digital access to Colombo's growing transshipment hub. SriLankan Cargo's network offers strong coverage across key trade lanes connecting the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Indian subcontinent. The integration includes WebCargo Pay, enabling non-IATA forwarders to access capacity without traditional credit requirements.

Positive

• Expansion of digital network to include strategic South Asian trade lanes and Colombo hub
• Integration with WebCargo Pay removes barriers for SME forwarders in emerging markets
• Access to 10,000+ freight forwarding offices worldwide
• Enhanced interlining capabilities with major carriers like Qatar Airways and Emirates SkyCargo

Negative

• None.

Insights

Logistics Technology Analyst

Freightos expands digital freight network by adding SriLankan Cargo, strengthening South Asian presence and enabling broader market access.

Freightos' partnership with SriLankan Cargo represents a strategic expansion of its digital freight booking platform into the South Asian market. By integrating SriLankan's network that spans 32 destinations across 21 countries, Freightos significantly enhances its connectivity to the Indian subcontinent, Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Europe.

The integration delivers three key benefits: First, it provides Freightos' 10,000+ freight forwarding offices immediate digital access to SriLankan's air cargo capacity, strengthening Freightos' value proposition. Second, through WebCargo Pay, it removes financial barriers for non-IATA forwarders in emerging markets who previously couldn't access such carrier capacity without credit lines or guarantees. Third, the interlining capabilities will allow complex multi-carrier route bookings, enhancing SriLankan's partnerships with major carriers like Qatar Airways and Emirates SkyCargo.

From SriLankan's perspective, this partnership expands their customer reach substantially while modernizing their booking infrastructure. For Freightos, adding SriLankan reinforces their platform's utility by increasing coverage in strategically important South Asian trade lanes, making their platform more attractive to freight forwarders globally.

This deal follows Freightos' consistent strategy of expanding their digital marketplace by onboarding more carriers and creating network effects - each additional airline makes their platform more valuable to forwarders, while more forwarders make the platform more attractive to airlines. The focus on democratizing access for SME forwarders in emerging markets also suggests Freightos is targeting growth in developing economies where digitalization of freight booking has significant untapped potential.

BARCELONA, Spain, July 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Freightos (NASDAQ: CRGO), the leading digital booking and payment platform for the international freight industry, today announced that SriLankan Cargo, the air freight arm of SriLankan Airlines, has partnered with WebCargo for online air cargo booking and payments. This partnership, which is planned to go live later this quarter, significantly strengthens Freightos' footprint in South Asia and unlocks digital access to Colombo—a growing transshipment hub linking the Indian subcontinent with the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Europe.

The integration will enable the 10,000+ freight forwarding offices using WebCargo worldwide to instantly access, quote, book, and pay for SriLankan's air freight capacity through the same comprehensive platform they use for rate management, procurement optimization, and end-to-end shipping.

SriLankan Cargo's network connects to 32 online destinations in 21 countries and over 200 destinations with the support of its' partners, with particularly strong capacity to India and the Gulf. Specifically, SriLankan Cargo offers strong coverage across key trade lanes, connecting core lanes across the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Europe, India and Indian subcontinent.

"SriLankan Cargo brings high-quality regional capacity into our digital network at a time when agility is key," said Zvi Schreiber, CEO of Freightos. "By integrating their rates and capacity, forwarders gain instant and enhanced access to critical South Asian trade lanes, including Colombo and India."

The integration also expands market participation through WebCargo Pay, which allows non-IATA forwarders across Asia to access SriLankan Cargo's capacity without requiring airline credit lines or bank guarantees. This democratization of access is particularly valuable in emerging markets, where many SME forwarders have historically faced barriers to carrier capacity.

"By joining Freightos' WebCargo platform, we're not just digitalizing our booking process—we're expanding our reach to thousands of new potential customers," said Chaminda Perera, Head of Cargo at SriLankan Airlines. "The integration with Freightos' rate management and procurement tools ensures our services are visible at the critical decision-making stage of the freight buying process."

In addition to offering instant capacity and booking to forwarders, SriLankan Cargo is also leveraging WebCargo by Freightos' interlining capabilities, enhancing SriLankan's existing partnerships with major carriers like Qatar Airways, Emirates SkyCargo, Turkish Airlines, and Etihad Cargo, and eventually allowing forwarders to seamlessly book complex multi-carrier routes while helping partner airlines optimize their load factors.

Forwarders looking to book SriLankan Cargo can register for free here.

About Freightos

Freightos® (Nasdaq: CRGO) is the leading vendor-neutral global freight booking platform. Airlines, ocean carriers, thousands of freight forwarders, and well over ten thousand importers and exporters connect on Freightos, making world trade efficient, agile, and resilient.

The Freightos platform digitizes the trillion dollar international freight industry, supported by a suite of software solutions that span pricing, quoting, booking, shipment management, and payments for businesses of all shapes and sizes around the globe. Products include Freightos Enterprise for multinational importers and exporters, Freightos Marketplace for small importers and exporters, WebCargo and 7LFreight by WebCargo for freight forwarders, WebCargo for Airlines, and Clearit, a digital customs broker.

Freightos is a leading provider of real-time industry data via Freightos Terminal, which includes the world's leading spot pricing indexes, Freightos Air Index (FAX) for air cargo and Freightos Baltic Index (FBX) for container shipping. Futures of FBX are traded on CME and SGX.

More information is available at freightos.com/investors.

About SriLankan Cargo

SriLankan Cargo, the cargo arm of Sri Lanka's National Carrier, SriLankan Airlines, has been expanding its services rapidly, using Colombo as the logical gateway in Asia, to link the fast-growing economies of the South Asia with the Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, the Far East and Australia. Currently, it provides seamless connectivity to a global network of 32 destinations in 21 countries. Together with its airline and logistics partners, SriLankan Cargo serves over 200 destinations worldwide.

SriLankan Cargo operates out of its hub at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo, with handling capabilities for temperature-controlled cargo (three temperature ranges) such as pharmaceuticals and other temperature sensitive shipments. It is equipped with a live animal holding area for pets and other live animals; a radioactive room for radioactive commodities, and a vault to secure valuable cargo such as gems, jewelry and gold bars. As a leader in service excellence, SriLankan Cargo has been recognized at many global forums and its latest accolade includes 'Emerging Cargo Airline' at the Arabian Cargo Awards 2024. For more information visit www.srilankancargo.com 

Media Contact
Tali Aronsky
PR Lead, Freightos
tali.aronsky@freightos.com

Investor Contact
Anat Earon-Heilborn
ir@freightos.com

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2319256/4496202/Freightos_Logo.jpg

 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/srilankan-cargo-joins-freightos-new-digital-bridge-to-south-asian-markets-302509485.html

SOURCE Freightos

FAQ

What is the significance of SriLankan Cargo joining Freightos (NASDAQ: CRGO)?

The partnership provides digital access to Colombo's transshipment hub and connects 32 online destinations in 21 countries, strengthening Freightos' footprint in South Asia and enabling instant booking and payment capabilities for freight forwarders.

How many freight forwarding offices will have access to SriLankan Cargo through WebCargo?

Over 10,000 freight forwarding offices worldwide will gain instant access to quote, book, and pay for SriLankan's air freight capacity through the WebCargo platform.

When will the Freightos-SriLankan Cargo partnership go live?

The partnership is planned to go live in Q3 2025.

How does WebCargo Pay benefit non-IATA forwarders?

WebCargo Pay allows non-IATA forwarders to access SriLankan Cargo's capacity without requiring airline credit lines or bank guarantees, democratizing access particularly in emerging markets.

Which major airlines are part of SriLankan Cargo's interlining network on WebCargo?

SriLankan Cargo's interlining network includes partnerships with Qatar Airways, Emirates SkyCargo, Turkish Airlines, and Etihad Cargo.