WE BRING YOU SAFELY TO TAKE-OFF. - TCR Group

FEATURE | CARGO ULDs
An Airshop container undergoes repair (above); Sweden’s Envirotainer specialises in active temperature-controlled containers (below)
Container
value
They are not just boxes for carrying air freight – ULDs are becoming
ever more sophisticated
Anyone working in air freight today would be amazed at the
sight of loose cargo being loaded onto an aircraft, as was the
case at the birth of the industry in the early 1900s. That might
have worked when only a few bags were shoved into the hold,
but not anymore, as increasing air freight volumes need to be contained
in a unit load device (ULD) to both maximise use of space and protect
the cargo.
And while most airlines rely heavily on pallets, air cargo would not
exist without the huge range of containers flying around the world.
There are, in fact, some 16 different container types and sizes, ranging
from the most popular AKE (also known as the LD-3), which has a 4.3
cubic metre capacity, to the much smaller models such as the APA/DPA
(LD-2), with a 3.4 cubic metre capacity, or the giant AWC (LD-6), which
has 8.9 cubic metres of space.
Special containers are available for specific purposes, too. These may
be walk-through, with doors at either end to allow loading from both
sides; ‘flyaway’, to hold spare parts for the aircraft; transparent, to enable
users to check that no goods have been left inside - ideal for carrying
mail, since it is easy to leave an enveloped behind; or temperaturecontrolled,
for perishable cargoes.
In fact, there are so many different container types that the International
Air Transport Association (IATA) has issued standards to ensure
airworthiness and guidelines advising how to store, load and handle
each ULD.
IATA’s advice covers just about everything imaginable, including how
ULDs should be stored; how they should be handled by forklifts – and
how not; and how they should be marked to show their certification, or
lack thereof. And that’s only a fraction of IATA’s requirements but, as it
points out, the industry suffers from costly delays due to unavailability
of suitable equipment and staff, the latter sometimes the result of injuries
caused by improper handling of ULDs.
One of the difficulties in dealing with containers is their weight.
The average traditional aluminium ULD weighs between 85 and 90 kilos,
which means significant fuel usage, cost and carbon emissions. The
huge rise in fuel prices has encouraged airlines to look for lighter weight
alternatives and manufacturers are rising to the challenge. Nordisk Aviation
Products and Driessen Air Cargo Europe, the two main producers of
26 AIRSIDE INTERNATIONAL | OCTOBER 2012 WWW.AIRSIDEINT.COM