Which Hazardous Materials Cannot Be Shipped by Air and Why?

Air transportation is the fastest way to move goods and people, and it is exceedingly safe for both, too. One of the reasons that it remains so safe is because of strict requirements for shipping hazardous materials by aircraft.

Many hazardous materials (a.k.a., “hazmat,” “dangerous goods,” or “DG”) are subject to stricter rules when shipped by air than by other modes of transportation. Some are prohibited by air unless special permission is granted. Others can go by cargo aircraft but not passenger aircraft. The most dangerous materials—the kind we will dive into here—are so dangerous that they may never be shipped by air.

To ensure your hazmat packages are compliant when shipped by air, you need to know:

• Whose hazmat air shipping regulations shippers should follow.
• Which hazardous materials cannot be shipped by air.
• Why air rules for hazmat shipments are more stringent.

Whose Air Shipping Regulations Should Hazmat Shippers Follow?

Hazmat shippers in the US must comply with the US DOT’s Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR). Most major air carriers require DG shipments to be in compliance with the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR). Up front, it seems like air shippers in the US need to comply with two separate regulatory texts, but that is not the case.

The HMR allow shippers to follow the ICAO Technical Instructions (TI) instead of the Federal hazmat rules if the package being shipped will travel via air for at least part of its journey, and the IATA DGR fully incorporates the ICAO TI as its base before adding stricter rules and operator variations from different airlines. That means compliance with the most recent DGR satisfies both carriers who can reject your shipments and regulators who can fine you for noncompliance.

Which Hazardous Materials Cannot Be Shipped by Air?

Hazardous materials that are known to meet the description of a “forbidden dangerous good” are included in the List of Dangerous Goods in the IATA DGR. That list is helpful but cannot be considered exhaustive, according to the DGR. So, shippers must take great care not to offer materials that are not fit for flight.

Definition of “forbidden dangerous goods”

“Any article or substance which, as presented for transport, is liable to explode, dangerously react, produce a flame or dangerous evolution of heat or dangerous emission of toxic, corrosive or flammable gases or vapours under conditions normally encountered in transport must not be carried on aircraft under any circumstance.”

Why Are Hazmat Air Rules More Stringent?

The consequences of a hazardous materials incident aboard an aircraft can be devastating. Some materials have an anesthetic or noxious property that could cause extreme annoyance or discomfort to the flight crew and prevent correct job performance. Some packages that pose an acute fire risk—like strike-anywhere matches (UN 1331)—could adversely affect an airplane’s instrumentation, which is particularly sensitive to extreme heat.

The emergency response options available aboard aircraft make transporting dangerous goods by air a unique logistics challenge, too, compared to dangerous goods shipped by highway. You cannot crack a window and air out the cabin at 30,000 feet, an airplane cannot pull over to investigate a release, and its crew cannot toss troublesome packages out of the back door.

IATA DGR Training to Keep Air Shipments Flying

Because most hazmat air shipments need to be compliant with the IATA DGR, each person who affects the safety of hazmat shipments that travel by air needs training on those regulations.

Lion’s Hazmat Air Shipper Certification (IATA) training guides air shippers through each step of preparing dangerous goods (i.e., hazmat) shipments—including the stricter marking, labeling, and shipping paper requirements in the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations.

Learn at your own pace with the on-demand online course or join an instructor for the next live webinar or in-person workshop.

Tags: dangerous goods, hazmat air shipping, hazmat shipping, IATA DGR, ICAO TI