Airfreight: Securing departure

The Technical Instructions (TI) of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and, subsequently, the Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR) of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) contain a number of special provisions for the shipment of lithium and sodium-ion batteries by air:

• on their own
• in devices or vehicles
• packed with devices or vehicles

Additional requirements are believed to correspond to the particular risk of transport 10,000 metres above the ground. The table on the separate Arbeitshilfe “Lithiumbatteries: Airfreight" systematically summarises these requirements, which deviate from the regulations for road transport (ADR).

Lessons learned

Air freight forwarders often do not know which airline the air freight forwarder will use for transport and are therefore unaware of the specific requirements of that airline. This is why non-compliance with airline requirements is the most common reason for refusing to accept a dangerous goods shipment at the airport of departure.

Lesson learned: Always find out which airline will be flying the shipment; this saves hassle and costs.

In air transport, there are more labelling elements: the official name for transport (‘proper shipping name’) and the label ‘cargo aircraft only’. The two packages in the picture above with the CAO-label comply with the 35 kg net weight limit. Since the packaging must comply with packaging group II, i.e. it must be ‘Y’ coded, the 60 kg gross weight limit applies to the cardboard box with UN 3551 and the 30 kg gross weight limit applies to the cardboard box with UN 3480.

This means that it is essential to weigh the boxes before shipping; if the gross weight limit is exceeded and this is only noticed at the airport during the acceptance check, it will be very expensive.

Dr. Norbert Müller
Certified expert for the transport and storage of dangerous goods, Duisburg

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