Need Help?
An aircraft Unit Load Device (ULD) is either an aircraft container or a combination of an aircraft pallet and an aircraft pallet net for grouping and restraining cargo, mail and baggage for air transport. Since the 1950s, they’ve been used to safely transport goods by air. However, year after year, ULDs are often a leading cause of aircraft damage on the ground and also costs the industry about USD 400 million annually for the repair and loss.
To help reduce ULD related safety incidents as well as damage and loss, IATA has developed the ULDR. The ULDR is a comprehensive reference manual containing all the regulatory and airline requirements, technical and operating specifications as well as industry agreed standards and procedures applicable to all parties involved in the manufacturing, repair and maintenance, handling and operations of ULDs.
Need Help?
Order the ULDR online
If you are new to the ULD Regulations, all versions are updated annually. Digital products come with automatic updates for the year and a search function that makes finding current information easy. And, it's cheaper.
Contact us if you're interested in an enterprise solution for accessing IATA Publications.
2024 ULD Regulations (ULDR)
2024 ULD Regulations (ULDR)
2024 Reglamentación sobre dispositivos unitarios de carga (ULDR)
2024 Reglamentación sobre dispositivos unitarios de carga (ULDR)
What’s inside the ULDR?
- Applicability (aircraft ULD definition, regulatory framework, scope and applicability, responsibilities of airlines and other parties, training requirements)
- Limitations (aircraft operating limitations applicable to ULD, aircraft contour drawings with dimensions of all the major aircraft types, requirements for pallet and net compatibility, requirements for continuing airworthiness and ULD serviceability check, requirements for ULD repairs)
- Classification (cargo compartment classification, certified ULD and TSO-C90 approval, bilateral agreements on approval acceptance, non-certified containers, ULD accessories)
- ULD Identification (IATA ULD ID Code, currently registered ULD Type Codes, diagrams, related characteristics including aircraft acceptability, airline and non-airline owner codes, pallet/net compatibility chart)
- Technical and Operating Specifications for aircraft pallet, net, container, Fire Resistant Container, Temperature Controlled Container and other special purpose ULDs, Fire Containment Cover, cargo restrain strap and other ULD accessories
- Marking (marking of ULD ID Code, TSO marking requirements, requirements for bar-coded ULD ID Code and ULD RFID tag, Operational Damage Limits Notice (ODLN))
- Documentation and messaging (ULD Stock Control, ULD Control Receipt for ULD transfer, ULD ownership documentation, ULD repair station documentation, operating instructions in CMM)
- Handling (maintaining continuing airworthiness, handling requirements for ULD storage, transport and movement, transfer, build-up and break-down, and special purpose ULDs)
- Appendixes (application for ULD Contour Code and registration of ULD Type Code, IATA ULD Management Scorecard, IATA ULD Training Program Assessment Checklist, illustration of ULD components on ODLN)
Still not sure if the ULDR is for you? Download the full table of contents.
Stay up-to-date
Significant Changes to the 12th edition (2024) of the IATA ULD Regulations (ULDR) include:
- The Competency-based Training and Assessment approach for ULD training requirements has been adopted in ULDR 1.6.
- All the technical and operating specifications for Fire Resistant Container (FRC) and Fire Containment Cover (FCC) have been updated to align with the respective SAE and ISO standards.
- The migration of the ULD working instructions from ULDR to ICHM has been started this year with Operating Specifications 6/01 and 6/06.
- The ULD Operational Maximum Gross Weight, which is marked by the manufacturers on the ULD, has been clarified to differentiate from the Maximum Gross Weight limitation per aircraft ULD position imposed by the aircraft WBM.
- The presentation of the maximum allowable center of gravity heights of respective ULD contours has been greatly improved.
- The aircraft cargo compartment classification based on the fire protection capability of the cargo compartment has been updated.
- Characteristics associated with ‘Special Loads’ such as offset cargo & overhanging cargo have been added in the new edition of the ULDR.