Air shipments of dangerous goods

Air shipments of dangerous goods

The shipment of dangerous goods by air is subject to strict regulations designed to protect the safety of people, aircraft, and the environment.

The regulations are based mainly on the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) and are applied by the IATA (International Air Transport Association) through its DGR (Dangerous Goods Regulations) manual.

The requirements for proceeding with a shipment are:

Correct identification and classification of the goods according to Number and Proper Shipping Name.

Approved packaging according to the risk class.

Labeling and marking with risk symbols, UN number, sender's address, and recipient's address.

Mandatory documentation, mainly: Shipper's Declaration for Dangerous Goods, Air Waybill (AWB) with the corresponding mention. Limitations and prohibitions: not all dangerous goods can be shipped on passenger aircraft; some can only be shipped on cargo aircraft.

Classification of dangerous goods

Explosives, gases (flammable, non-flammable, toxic), flammable liquids, flammable solids, self-reactive substances, desensitized solid explosives, oxidizing substances and organic peroxides, toxic and infectious substances, radioactive material, corrosive substances, miscellaneous (lithium batteries, magnets, etc.).