Liquids as air freight - anything but trivial

Attention: For liquids or granulates, air freight regulations have changed. Until recently, regulated agents were able to secure such shipments with Explosive Trace Detection (ETD) devices. However, the German Federal Aviation Authority (LBA) has suspended this special control procedure since July 1, 2019. The LBA recommends affected shippers to obtain approval as a known consignor. "But the effort is not worthwhile for many customers who have little air freight", says Jennifer Kamp, Airfreight Manager at a. hartrodt in Düsseldorf/Ratingen.

Known consignor – laborious procedure

"Affected are goods that cannot be checked by the usual methods such as X-rays, explosive detection dogs or ETD with sampling from the outside and inside of a shipment", explains Kamp. Although a. hartrodt is admitted as a forwarding agent as a known consignor, this is not sufficient in this case. "The goal of the LBA is that customers also register as known consignors," says the air freight expert. However, the procedure is not a short-term solution – the LBA will take at least three months to complete it.

Departures and security procedures via France

Since the winter flight schedules came into force, liquids and granulates can no longer be flown via Amsterdam, Luxembourg or Belgian airports. The only possible option: a. hartrodt offers, through a partner, a daily connection between Frankfurt/Düsseldorf and the French airport Strasbourg. "From Monday to Friday this is possible by trucking from one working day to the next. On the following day, loading can take place at the airport of choice," says Kamp. Alternatively, a. hartrodt optimizes the containers and drum volumes in consultation with packers. "For this purpose, we check test containers with our own scanners and try to make the shipment safe," explains Kamp.

Which solution is useful depends on the individual case. For this purpose, the sales teams at a. hartrodt provide individual advice at all locations. Kamp estimates that over half of all customers are affected in individual cases.