What are the restrictions and requirements for international air freight?
Air freight has the following restrictions and requirements:
1、 General cargo requirements
Packaging requirements
Robustness: The packaging should be sturdy, intact, and able to withstand pressure, vibration, and normal handling operations during transportation. For example, when using cardboard boxes with sufficient strength, the seams should be sealed with high-strength tape to prevent them from unraveling during transportation.
Suitable materials: Select appropriate packaging materials based on the nature of the goods. Fragile products, such as glass products and ceramics, must be wrapped with buffer materials such as foam and bubble pad, and the word "Fragile" must be marked on the outside of the package; For liquid goods, packaging should be able to prevent liquid leakage, usually using sealed plastic containers or glass bottles, and placed in leak proof secondary packaging such as plastic sealed bags.
Size and weight restrictions: There are certain limitations on the size and weight of the goods packaging. Generally speaking, the weight of a single cargo should not exceed the maximum limit set by the airline, for example, the common limit is around 80 kilograms. In terms of packaging size, the longest side generally does not exceed 200 centimeters, and the sum of length, width, and height does not exceed 300 centimeters. This is to facilitate the storage and loading/unloading of goods in the aircraft cargo hold.
Marking and labeling requirements
Identification label: Each item of goods should be labeled with a clear and accurate identification label, including the name and address of the shipper and consignee, contact phone number, name of the goods, number of pieces, and other information. Labels should be made of waterproof and wear-resistant materials to ensure complete and identifiable information during transportation.
Special labels: For goods with special properties such as fragile, flammable, perishable, radioactive, etc., corresponding special labels need to be affixed. These labels have a unified pattern and color standard, such as the red diamond pattern indicating flammability, and the yellow triangle pattern indicating careful handling (fragile), so that operators can quickly identify and take corresponding measures during loading, unloading, and transportation.
2、 Aviation safety restrictions
Dangerous goods restrictions
Prohibited items: Many items are strictly prohibited from air transportation, including explosives (such as explosives, detonators), compressed gases (such as hydrogen, acetylene, except for certain special medical compressed gases), flammable liquids (such as gasoline, alcohol), flammable solids (such as red phosphorus), oxidants and organic peroxides, toxic and infectious substances (such as cyanide, anthrax bacillus samples), radioactive substances (such as uranium ore), corrosive substances (such as sulfuric acid, sodium hydroxide), etc. These items, due to their high level of danger, would have unimaginable consequences in the event of an accident on an airplane.
Dangerous goods with restricted transportation: Some dangerous goods can be transported under specific conditions, such as lithium batteries. For lithium batteries transported separately, their packaging must comply with United Nations standards, and each battery must have measures to prevent short circuits. For devices containing lithium batteries, such as laptops, mobile phones, etc., the packaging must indicate information such as the watt hour rating of the lithium battery, and the device must be turned off to prevent fires caused by battery overheating, short circuits, etc. during transportation.
Magnetic material limitations
Magnetic testing: Magnetic substances may interfere with aircraft navigation systems and communication equipment, so air cargo needs to undergo magnetic testing. If the magnetism of the goods exceeds a certain limit (usually measured by Gaussian value), airlines usually do not carry them. For example, some large motors, transformers, and other equipment may contain strong magnetism and require demagnetization treatment or special packaging to shield the magnetism before transportation to ensure that its magnetism meets aviation transportation safety standards.