Cargo airports and the ground process behind an air waybill

Belly capacity and freighter capacity behave differently

Cargo carried in the hold of a passenger aircraft follows the passenger network: frequent, thin, and vulnerable to seasonal schedule changes and to baggage taking priority. Dedicated freighters offer volume and take oversized or awkward loads, but they fly to a thinner list of points and their schedules are built around cargo demand rather than travellers. A shipper who mixes the two must accept different booking horizons. Belly space is often available at short notice and disappears at short notice, while freighter space is planned and allocated further out, which suits regular programmes better than one-off consignments.

Ground handlers, not the airport, touch your freight

The airport company supplies the infrastructure and the operating framework. Physical acceptance, build-up onto unit load devices, storage, breakdown and delivery to the landside dock are performed by handling agents appointed by the airlines. When a shipment is delayed on the ground the handler holds the answer, and the airline holds the contractual liability. That split matters for claims. An air waybill is a contract with the carrier, so a loss or damage claim runs to the airline even where the handler caused it, and the deadlines set out in the applicable convention are short and strictly applied.

Acceptance cut-offs, build-up and unit load devices

Every flight has a latest acceptance time, before which the consignment must be physically present, correctly documented and screened. Miss it and the booking rolls, regardless of how much space the aircraft has. Consolidations are built onto pallets or containers shaped to the aircraft hold, and a poorly built unit either loses volume or is rejected by the loadmaster. Document quality is part of acceptance. Weights, dimensions, declared value and any special handling codes must match what arrives on the dock, and the practices published through the International Air Transport Association's cargo programmes are the reference most handlers work to.

Screening, dangerous goods and the special-cargo lanes

Air cargo security regimes require consignments to be screened or to arrive from a party within a secure supply chain. Shippers who hold a recognised status can present cargo already secured, which removes a queue at the gateway; those who do not must allow time for screening and accept that dense or awkward loads take longer to clear. Dangerous goods, live animals, valuables and pharmaceuticals move through separate acceptance lanes with their own paperwork and storage conditions. Book them as such from the outset, because reclassifying a shipment at the counter almost always means missing the flight.

Cargo roles

• General air cargo acceptance and export build-up
• Import breakdown and delivery to consignees
• Temperature-controlled and pharmaceutical handling
• Transfer traffic between connecting flights

Frequently asked questions

Why did my shipment miss a flight that departed with space on board?

Space is only one constraint. If the consignment arrived after the latest acceptance time, failed screening, lacked a matching document set or could not be built onto a suitable unit, it will be offloaded even on a lightly loaded aircraft. Loading decisions close well before departure.

Should I claim against the airline or the handling agent?

The air waybill is issued by or on behalf of the carrier, so the claim normally runs to the airline even when a handler was at fault. Notify within the short periods set by the governing convention and keep the discrepancy report raised at delivery, because reconstructing evidence afterwards rarely succeeds.

Is trucked air cargo still airfreight?

Yes, when it moves under an air waybill as a road feeder service. Carriers routinely truck consignments between airports and treat the leg as part of the air movement, which affects transit expectations and, in some cases, the liability regime that applies to that portion.