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Recently, IATA and ICAO have extended ent environments. The complexity is com-
their long-standing cooperation in setting pounded by materials that may fall into
and implementing global standards for the nine hazard classes. To address this, many
safe carriage of dangerous goods by air. This organisations are investing heavily in train-
collaboration underscores the industry's ing programmes and specialised software,
commitment to maintaining and improving with some establishing dedicated teams
safety standards on a global scale. of experts focused solely on ensuring ac-
A cornerstone of DG transportation is curate DG classification.
the Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR) This meticulous classification process
manual, published annually by IATA. These is just the first step in a comprehensive
rules, based on the ICAO Technical Instruc- system of checks and balances. As a
tions, provide comprehensive guidelines Among the 38 million Lufthansa Cargo spokesperson explained,
for classifying, marking, packing, labelling, flights in 2023 there were "The airline accepting consignments
and documenting hazardous shipments. containing dangerous goods checks
The DGR manual serves as the global ref- 30 accidents and just one documentation and cargo for compli-
erence for shipping dangerous goods by air, of which was fatal. A good ance with regulations. In case there is
offering detailed instructions on classifica- reasonable doubt regarding the proper
tion, packaging, labelling, documentation, safety record, as we all know, identification or classification Lufthansa
and training requirements. The frequent is earned every day. And for Cargo requests a safety data sheet (SDS)
updates to these regulations reflect the issued by the manufacturer or distributor
industry's commitment to addressing new air cargo, we must continue of the hazardous substance or article to
safety concerns, technological advance- verify correct classification."
ments, and emerging best practices. to put special emphasis on Another crucial step is packaging
One of the most critical challenges in the handling of dangerous and labelling. Each type of dangerous
DG transportation is the accurate clas- good has specific packaging require-
sification of goods. This process requires goods, and in particular ments, which may include specialised
in-depth knowledge of various materials' lithium batteries. inner packaging, absorbent materials, or
properties and their interactions in differ- pressure-relief devices. Labelling must be
precise, durable, and informative, bearing
Brendan Sullivan
IATA appropriate hazard labels, handling marks,
and other required information that can
withstand the rigours of transportation.
Johannes Bruijs, Senior Vice President-
Global Logistics at Cargolux Airlines,

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