Dangerous goods: what cannot go on a regular passenger flight
Lithium batteries, aerosols, paints and reagents are often refused on passenger flights. What must go cargo-only, which papers are required, and where shippers lose time.
Why a “regular flight” and DGR are different routes
A buyer books space as ordinary commercial cargo and gets a refusal on departure day. The reason is almost always the same: the goods fall under IATA DGR, and a passenger aircraft accepts only a limited set of classes and quantities. A regular flight is a passenger aircraft with a belly hold. A cargo flight (often CAO — cargo aircraft only) carries freight only and allows a wider range of dangerous substances when packing and the shipper’s declaration are correct.
KAZLOGIST.KZ arranges air freight into Kazakhstan from Europe, China and Asia, the Middle East and the USA, including special DGR cargo. Pickup at the shipper, export clearance, AWB, space with partner airlines and delivery to the destination airport are on us. We choose the aircraft type by hazard class, quantity and packing — not by a verbal “cheaper option”.
What usually cannot go on a passenger aircraft
Acceptance is decided by IATA DGR classification and the packing instruction, not the invoice name. In practice passenger flights regularly refuse or tightly limit:
- lithium-ion and lithium-metal batteries — standalone, in equipment and spares, especially damaged cells or high capacity;
- aerosols, pressurised cylinders, gas mixtures;
- paints, solvents, adhesives, alcohol-based liquids;
- chemical reagents, acids, alkalis, oxidisers;
- magnetic articles above allowed field limits, certain batteries with equipment without certified packing.
Some items are cargo-aircraft only. A supplier in China, Turkey, the EU or the USA writing “ordinary goods” is not an argument for the airline. Read the safety data sheet (MSDS/SDS): class, UN number, packing group, packing instruction. Without those fields, a passenger booking is a lottery.
Documents and packing: the flight will not open without them
DGR needs a safety data sheet, certified UN packing and marks, and a shipper’s declaration. We check the file before departure. For import into Kazakhstan you still need a commercial invoice with HS codes, a packing list with weight and dimensions per piece, AWB, a contract or supporting invoice; origin certificates and permits when required.
Typical failures: SDS in the wrong language or outdated, cartons without UN marks, batteries in plain cardboard, declaration not matching the invoice, the shipper not authorised to sign DGR. Until that is closed, passenger space is cancelled and a cargo flight will also refuse.
Where money and calendar time disappear
Loss comes from rehandling, not from “expensive DGR” as a slogan. Cargo is offloaded, returned to warehouse, waits for a freighter, is re-packed, AWB is reissued. Transit is counted from leaving the shipper’s warehouse to release at destination airport: Europe → Kazakhstan usually 3–5 days, China/Asia 3–6, Middle East 2–4, USA 5–8; urgent moves about 2–3 days if space exists. An offload from a passenger flight easily consumes that window.
Airlines charge the greater of actual and volumetric weight. Volumetric weight = length × width × height (cm) / 6000. The rate includes the per-kg charge, fuel and security surcharges, terminal handling, AWB and export declaration, pickup and delivery. UN packaging increases dimensions — volumetric weight rises. We quote only after a manager calculation: route, weight, volume, cargo type, urgency. Advisors do not give ballpark prices.
How to ship without an airport surprise
The logistics sequence is simple and strict:
- request SDS before paying the supplier and match the UN number to the real composition;
- confirm passenger acceptance versus CAO only;
- apply UN packing and marks at the shipper’s warehouse, not at the airport on the night of departure;
- align the shipper’s declaration with invoice names and quantities;
- submit the file for check before booking, not after.
There is no minimum weight: from 1 kg to commercial lots. Urgent spare parts with batteries may need a freighter, not hand-carry “as a normal box”. Temperature-controlled and high-value DGR also need priority handling — a separate booking, not a line added to the same AWB.
KAZLOGIST.KZ works with companies and private shippers from Almaty: door-to-door, consolidation, re-packing, palletising, photo reports, export customs support and help with import. If the cargo is DGR, we say immediately whether the route is passenger or cargo-only.
Leave your contacts — we will calculate the shipment by route, weight, volume and cargo type within an hour during business hours.
