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Types of Cargo Aircraft
- Passenger aircraft: With the passenger traffic (main source of revenue) of the aircraft the airlines are increasingly including transporting cargo in the belly of passenger airplanes.
- Freighters: Specialized airlines that carry only cargo on freighters.
Types of Air Freight Containers
ULDs (Unit Load Devices)
Containers or ULDs (Unit Load Devices) are normally owned by the airlines, and each ULD has an identification number assigned to it.
Each identification number has three parts: the type of ULD, its serial number, and the name of the airline that owns it. This allows for easier identification for aircraft loading and unloading purposes, and tracking of ULDs as they move around the world on flights, to/from other airlines, and to/from freight forwarders and shippers. This is an example of an LD3, which is identified as AVE1234DB.
Pallet
Pallets are flat sheets of aluminium that can hold stacked shipments. A net is usually used to cover each pallet to secure the stacked shipments from falling off the pallet.
