General information on air freight

Definition

Air freight refers to goods transported from one airport to another by an airline. The air waybill (AWB), the cargo's transport document, authorizes this operation.

Depending on the mode of transport, there are three types of air freight:

• all-cargo freight, transported by cargo aircraft, i.e. equipped exclusively to carry goods and offering a high payload volume (up to 100 t);

• mixed freight, transported by mixed or "combi" aircraft, carrying both passengers and freight;

• surface freight, transported by any other means (e.g. truck).