Create a booking request for cargo space with Maersk Air Freight Service
The Maersk Air Booking API enables our customers to transport their air cargo with our wholly owned air cargo network and its strategic partner network across several global and regional airlines.
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Priority Air
For those situations when time is critical, Priority Air will transport your cargo airport-to-airport in less than 3 days. -
Premium Air
When flexibility is key, the Premium Air service will consolidate and deliver your cargo in 3 to 5 days. -
Economy Air
When cost is key, Economy Air will transport your cargo in 5 to 7 days.
Simplify your booking process
Effortlessly create and manage your air cargo bookings, saving time and resources in the shipping process.
Seamless integration
With our comprehensive documentation and support, you can easily incorporate the API into your platform.
Booking experience
Customers can place an air booking with a request payload as defined in the API specification. Customers will receive an instant acknowledgement in approximately 500ms with a Maersk Booking Reference (MBR) and an Airway Bill Number. Customers can use the Airway Bill Number to view booking details, amend and cancel booking, and track their air cargo on page.
At Maersk we are investing heavily in our Air APIs. The Air Booking API is the first step in this journey. This will be followed by additional capabilities in 2024 to manage bookings and tracking, including webhooks and push APIs.
Maersk’s customers, freight forwarders and their partners acting on behalf of Maersk’s customers can get access to the API.
Access to this API is limited to approved developers currently doing business with Maersk. To request access, you need to login using your company email address and create an App to enable this API product for your Consumer Key. For step-by-step instructions, please refer to our Getting Started Guide.
Traffic and spike arrest limits are configured at the consumer key level for each API Product as detailed in the table below. If these limits are exceeded, the request is rejected with a 429 Too Many Requests HTTP status code.
| Quota per Consumer Key | Traffic Surge Rate Limit per Consumer Key |
|---|---|
| 20,000 calls per hour | 600 calls per minute |
Q: What cargo types are supported?
A: We accept the following types of cargo:
- General, dry
- Dangerous cargo
- Outsized
- Valuable cargo
- Temperature controlled
- Perishable cargo
Q: What is the turn-around time to receive an air booking confirmation?
A: The average turn-around time to receive a booking confirmation via email is currently 1.5 hours.
Q: I cannot see my booking on maersk.com even after waiting several hours. Why is this?
A: The Air Booking API is an asynchronous booking solution. While the API may return a 202 Accepted message, this does not guarantee that the backend system successfully created the booking. Consumers can contact us for assistance.
Q: What should I provide for the customerId parameter in the request payload?
A: The customerId is your Maersk customer code. Please check with your Maersk account manager or local Maersk office for your customer code.
Q: Can I create an Instant Booking with this API?
A: No, the current service functions as an asynchronous booking solution. Upon making a successful request to the API, a bookingNumber is instantly returned. Users can then track the request on Maersk's Air Cargo Tracking page.
Q: Can I add my internal reference numbers to my booking request?
A: You can use the references object with referenceTypeEnum = ORDER to provide your internal references.
Q: Why am I encountering a 400 Bad Request error without an accompanying debug message?
A: A 400 Bad Request error is typically a client-side issue. Ideally, the API should provide a debug message to enable the client to troubleshoot based on the specified error reasons. However, a 400 Bad Request error without a debug message indicates that the server is unable to process the request sent by the client due to syntax or an invalid payload that doesn’t align with the schema outlined in the API specification. Please ensure that your payload aligns with the schema defined in the API specification. If you cannot resolve the 400 Bad Request error, please contact us for assistance.
Q: How do I handle a 401 Unauthorized error?
A: A 401 Unauthorized error is commonly caused by an expired OAuth token. The OAuth token is valid for 2 hours. Please be sure to refresh your token before it expires.