What are Heavy Goods?
General Concepts
- Heavy and/or voluminous cargo is cargo that, due to its volume, shape and/or weight, requires special handling. Voluminous cargo is, with respect to cargo planes, cargo that does not fit on a pallet, i.e., loose machinery, pipe, cable drums, airplane engines, automobiles, etc.
- When accepting heavy and/or voluminous goods, in the event that they come packed, special attention must be paid to the characteristics of the packing. When it is deemed that the packing is not adequate for withstanding the accelerations to which the cargo will be subjected in flight, the goods shall be rejected. In the event that the goods are formed by a group of parts that may collapse, the packing must be capable of resisting laterally, and the top part capable of resisting a possible overturn, thereby preventing the goods from scattering.
- All Packages With A Weight Over 150 Kg:
- Must be individually lashed down when loaded in a container or in hold 5 (bulk).
- Whenever it is necessary to increase the contact surface area, cargo distribution “boards” shall be installed in order to distribute the load over the base.
The maximum allowable weight of each heavy package (HEA) depends on the kind of airplane (according to the floor strength) and on the airport facilities (equipment and manpower, so a pre-advise telex must be sent informing about the HEA shipment). The following figures show the standard fastening of cargo with a rectangular shape.
