The airplane is one of if not the safest means of travel and the most efficient method to ship products over vast distances. However, when shipping your next package through air freight, measures still have to be put in place in order to ensure the safety of the passengers and flight crew, and to make sure that your package gets to your address hopefully in good working condition.
Why So Many Guidelines?
Guidelines regarding air cargo differ from country to country so it is best that before you ship your products to take a look at the website of your country’s aviation authority as they will often contain detailed documents and guidelines concerning how to package and safely ship most given products. When concerning air freight in the Philippines, you should take a look at the guidelines of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).
When you take a look at the guidelines, you may encounter certain products that you use in your everyday life that may seem rather benign being categorized as dangerous goods, and you may ask yourself, why your given aviation authority has so many guidelines? Well my dear reader, some products that you may know as harmless on the ground like batteries and certain aerosols may present serious risks such as fire and/or a chemical hazard in a pressurized aircraft cabin at cruising altitude hence why air shipping guidelines are often numerous and strictly enforced
General Guidelines and Best Practices
Since the amount of specific guidelines from your country’s aviation authority can be overwhelming, here are some general best practices for shipping via air freight that will hopefully apply not only in the Philippines but internationally as well.
1. Prepare the Correct Labels and Paperwork
To ensure that your package arrives within a timely manner, you should make sure that your package is clearly and correctly labeled with the appropriate shipping addresses, and contact numbers (from both the shipper and the reliever).
Other documents you may have to include with your package are shipping invoices (especially for international shipments) and depending on the laws of the country you may be shipping to, you might need to present certain licenses, or certifications especially when shipping “dangerous goods” such as batteries, aerosols, and flammable liquids via air cargo.
2. Package Your Items Well
This goes without saying, but package handlers and airport personnel aren’t exactly the most delicate when it comes to loading your package onto the plane which explains why aviation authorities have so many guidelines, But in general your items should be securely packed, tightly sealed (for liquids), and well insulated, in order to protect from the rough handling.
Most commonly, items will be packaged in corrugated fiberboard boxes CFBs as they are lightweight and offer good protection for your package when it is packed properly, it is best to surround the items in lightweight packing materials such as packing peanuts, or yesterday’s newspaper if you want to be environmentally friendly. This is to make sure that there is as little air in the box as possible to prevent it from being crushed. You should also ensure that your box is well sealed to prevent the contents from spilling out in the event that the package is tremendously jostled around
Most commonly, items will be packaged in corrugated fiberboard boxes CFBs as they are lightweight and offer good protection for your package when it is packed properly, it is best to surround the items in lightweight packing materials such as packing peanuts, or yesterday’s newspaper if you want to be environmentally friendly. This is to make sure that there is as little air in the box as possible to prevent it from being crushed. You should also ensure that your box is well sealed to prevent the contents from spilling out in the event that the package is tremendously jostled around
3. Consider the Package’s Size and Weight
Apart from the paperwork, and the structural integrity of your packaging, another important consideration you have to take into account is the weight and dimensions of your package, after all bigger and heavier packages take up more space on an aircraft thus costing more to ship, because unlike a cargo ship, an aircraft being smaller usually has limited space. Thus it is best to consult with your aviation authority as well as the shipping company regarding the maximum size and weight of a package that they can reasonably accommodate before you begin to incur extra fees
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