bia report.pdf
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TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 1
Content
1) Introduction……………………………………………………02
2) Passenger processing and Baggage Handling…………………03
3) Airport Capacity and Utilization………………………………12
4) Airport Infrastructure………………………………………….18
5) Air Traffic Services and Navigation…………………………...18
6) Ground Handling and Cargo Processing………………………22
7) References……………………………………………………...31
8) Group Members………………………………………………..32
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 2
Introduction
Bandaranaike International Airport – BIA (IATA:CMB, ICAO: VCBI) is the major
international airport serving Colombo city. It is located in Katunayake, 35 km north
of Colombo. It is administered by Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd. It is
the hub for SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka, and Mihin Lanka, the
budget airline of the country. The airport began as a Royal Air Force base during the World
War (ii). In 1957, the base was handed over to the Royal Ceylon Air Force and renamed as
Katunayake. Part of it still remains an Air Force base. The airport was completed in 1967 and
Air Ceylon started international operations.
At present, BIA consists of 4 aprons, 2 terminals and one cargo terminal. Future
projects of BIA include a second runway to support the Airbus A380, 8 passenger gates, a
domestic terminal, a five storey car-park, and a five star hotel neighboring the airport. 24
airlines currently serve the airport and the airport serves over 4 million passengers annually.
Passenger processing and baggage handling, airport capacity and utilization, airport
infrastructure, air traffic services and navigation, ground handling and cargo processing are
the major areas which have been covered in this report.
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 3
Passenger Processing and Baggage Handling
Departing Passenger Flow Diagram
Customs Counter
Drop Off
Emigration Counters
Waiting Area
The Main Entrance
Security Checking Lobby Area
Airline Counter
Access to Plane Departure Gates
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 4
Prior considering departing passenger process within the terminal building, since
access to the airport is the initial step, concerning it is important. Passengers can be accessed
using private vehicles, cabs, shuttle buses or public transport which is provided by Airport
and Aviation private limited. With the aim of facilitating private vehicle users there are two
main open airshort term parking areas at the premises and terminal park which is closer to the
terminal buildingcan accommodate about 400 vehicles.
Then through sidewalks they can reach to the terminal building and have to go
through security checking in which make sure passengers are not carrying dangerous,
explosive and not permitted goods. Besides, in here it measures the weight of luggage to
ensure the weight is in allowed limit. There after they can wait in lobby until the rest of the
process continue. While waiting in lobby passengers can be used available facilities such as
Cafeteria, kiddies area, feeding area, rest rooms, prayer rooms, restaurants, banks, money
transferring centers, shopping malls and most importantly there is an information counter
which is intended to provide all the relevant information to passengers . The function of
customs is to verify passengers are not carrying restricted items such as antiques, plants,
birds, firearms, pharmaceuticals. At the emigration, passport, visaand ticket of passengers are
checked and boarding pass is issued by the Airline counter. Finally passengers have to wait
until their flight arrives.
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 5
Arriving Passenger Flow Chart
Aa
Although equally as important as the departing passenger areas, the arriving passenger
areas require less space compared to the departing passenger area. Firstly, passengers enter to
the immigration counter through arrival gate and after clearing immigration process they
should go through baggage claim hall where the whole baggage clearing process takes place.
While the baggage claim proceeds passengers should move to customs for relevant
inspections and finally, can exit from the baggage claim hall to the pickup.
Arrival Gate
Baggage Claim Exit
Customs Baggage Claim Hall
Immigration
Ground
Transportation Pick
Up
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 6
Baggage Handling For Departing Passengers
Departing passengers normally check their baggage at the ticket counters and then bags are
sent to a central sorting area where they are sorted according to flights. Then they are sent to
the appropriate gate to be loaded.
The Main Entrance
Transfer to the
Aircraft
Baggage Convey
Belts
Check In Counters Customs
Security Screening
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 7
Baggage Handling for Arriving Passengers
Arriving baggage is unloaded from the aircraft and sent to the central sorting are. Then sorted
bags are sent to either baggage claiming area or to storage for later pick up.
The Aircraft
Exit
Customs Baggage Convey
Belt
Baggage Carriers
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 8
I. Required Documentations
Passport- certifies the identity and nationality of the holder and is issued by
the government of his motherland.
Visa- is issued by the authorized agency in a particular country in order to
allow international travel.
Airline Ticket - is issued by an airline or a travel agency in order to confirm
that an individual has purchased a seat on a flight on an aircraft.
Boarding Pass – is given during check in and this allows passenger to board
the aircraft.
II. Equipment Used in the Process
Scanners
Large XRay machines
Security Screening Equipment – As passenger walk through the detector the
presence of non-permitted item is detected.
III. Authorities and Organizations Involved
AASL (Airport and Aviation Services Limited)-Is actively involved in the
national infrastructure development, especially in the field of the aviation and
the construction.
Department of Emigration and Immigration
Department of Customs
Banks(Bank of Ceylon, Peoples Bank ,Sampath Bank and Hatton National
Bank) / Currency Exchange Centers
Medical Center – Comprised with accident and emergency units, qualified
staff
Post Office
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 9
b) As identified in part (a), Steps which have critical bearing on the Airport passenger
handling capacity
As all the processes are linked together, efficiency, speed and accuracy of each
process’s performance directly affects and determines the total time that passenger has to
spend from the moment he has entered to the terminal and until clearing all the check in
processes. A well-organized, synchronized system could reduce unnecessary movements,
improve the efficiency and ultimately it would result effective utilization of available
space.
i. Inadequacy of active ticketing counters
Available number of ticketing counters are not adequate to cater when demand
is high, therefore by adding counters or by improving efficiency of existing
counters, dedicating them for exclusive use of a particular airline could
minimize delays in total process.
ii. Inadequacy of departing gates compared to arriving gates
Generally compared to number of arriving passengers, departing passengers
are significantly high at any airport, therefore in order to avoid congestion at
departing gates, number of gates should be increased appropriately.
iii. Inadequate space in baggage claiming area
Existing baggage claim area is consisted with six conveyor belts. Due to space
unavailability expansion is not allowed. But if existing number of conveyor
belts increase that available space can be utilized because conveyor belts allow
passenger access to their luggage without increasing the size of the claim area.
iv. Lack of high tech equipment
Unavailability of high tech equipment for security screening, baggage
handling, boarding pass verification, ticketing has resulted long queues and
more waiting time at each counter.
If there are automated systems for ticketing, check in and security screening,
time that consume for these processes would be minimized.
v. Inadequate seating capacity in waiting area
Adding more comfortable seats would be ease the seating of passengers.
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 10
c) Suggestions to increase the efficiency of check in passengers
Equip ticketing counters with high tech equipment to facilitate more air carriers and
passengers.
Because of self-operated ticketing counters time take will be less compared to
manually operated process. Besides, physical space needed for counter can be reduced
and that space can be utilized for another process.
On the other hand, at the beginning use of high tech equipment would be difficult
because of unfamiliarity.
Encourage e ticket purchasing
That will reduce vast number of processes manually done in check in counters such as
assignment of seats, issuance of boarding pass.
d) Security Aspects in ensuring completely sterile aircraft
1) Passenger Screening
Screen for non-permitted items such as weapons using
“magnetometer”, which detects items as a passenger walk through it.
If the magnetometer is detected an item, that passenger is subject to
manual search.
Hand bags are inspected using x ray machines to make sure they are
free from sharp objects, weapons, firearms and so on.
Detected bags are further inspected through the use of Explosive Trace
Detection equipment.
2) Baggage Screening
Prior loading luggage in to aircraft, screening using Explosive
Detection System should be done.
Checked baggage is screened by the use of Electronic Detection
System
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 11
e) Affiliated State or Private agencies at the Airport
The Ceypetco – Supply of fuel
The Fire Brigade- Fire and Rescue services
Tourism Bureau- Handling all promotional and marketing activities
related to travel and tourism.
Department of Meteorology- Function as official weather forecast
information provider.
The Civil Aviation Authority- To facilitate the operations of aviation
industry through strategic planning and effective regulations.
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 12
Airport capacity and utilization
Runway capacity of BIA in terms of aircraft movements that can be handled
per hour
The runway of BIA can handle around 30 arrival and departure aircraft per hour. It
means the runway capacity of BIA in terms of aircraft movements can be handled per hour is
nearly 30 (arrival and departure aircraft). Aircraft movements showed a growth in 2011 and it
is growing.
Current capacity utilization
Although BIA can handle 30 arrival and departure aircraft per hour, at present it
handles 6-7 aircraft on average per hour. Therefore, significant under utilization of capacity
can be seen in BIA. BIA has 4 aprons. 9 aircrafts can be accommodated in Apron Alpha, 8 in
Apron Bravo, 8 in Apron Charlie and 4 in Apron Delta. Apron Echo which is currently under
construction will have 17 parking bays.
Factors inhibit BIA to operate at its highest capacity
The both global and regional air travel demand for 2013 is showing a continuation of
the increase in passenger travel. Although the demand for international and domestic flights
increases, due to limitations in infrastructure, BIA is unable to operate in its highest capacity.
But BIA has potential for expansions. The main reason for underutilization of runway is
limitations in airport infrastructure including the runway itself and less capacity of aprons to
park aircrafts. That is why BIA’s future projects includes a second runway to support
the Airbus A380, a further eight passenger gates and a domestic terminal.
Although existing runway handles approximately 30 aircrafts per hours, passenger
and cargo handling and other ground handling operations are not very efficient in BIA, while
airports in developed countries use more efficient information systems and advanced
equipments for those processes to avoid delays. Absence of such efficient techniques make
delays aircraft at the airfield.
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 13
BIA growth Trend
When compared to other transport related industries, aviation industry is more sensitive
(as the above graph) to changes in world or region such as civil war and terrorism, economic
crisis, natural disasters etc. Also those situations will reduce the demand for BIA from
international airlines. In addition, the aircraft traffic should have to be controlled somehow
due to environmental considerations, since BIA is still in primary stages in implementing
emission and noise control systems which allow the airport to have maximum traffic of
aircraft. Also airport should consist of shopping complexes, attractive restaurants etc to
attract more transit passengers.
About slot allocation to airlines for the problem of congestion in BIA
Bunching occurs when packets of aircraft arrive at the same, unexpected time, in a
congested area. Due to lack of infrastructure, drawbacks in infrastructure designs, inefficient
operational planning, BIA as a major entry point for international traffic is facing the problem
of congestion of aircrafts.
Below graphs shows the variations of aircraft fleet in a day (on average) at BIA.
When considering the distribution of aircraft fleet on a particular day (Instead of getting an
average for a day as below) it shows a significant difference from another day’s distribution.
In other words, consistent or unique distribution cannot be observed between days of
operation. Also when considering the below graphs, highest number of aircraft changes with
time without a common pattern. There are time periods where there are high numbers of
arrivals/departures and in contrast, the successive time period has very less number of
arrivals/departures.
0
2000000
4000000
6000000
19
83
19
85
19
87
19
89
19
91
19
93
19
95
19
97
19
99
20
01
20
03
20
05
20
07
20
09
Passenger Movements
DEP
ARR
Transfer
Total
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 14
So allocating slots to airlines can be problematic due to the variations of aircraft of
different airlines based on time period and based on the day. This arrangement requires
thorough consideration not only on schedules of BIA but also on all other international and
0 5 10 15 20 25
12 am-2am
2am-4am
4am-6am
6am-8am
8am-10am
10am-12pm
12pm-2pm
2pm-4pm
4pm-6pm
6pm-8pm
8pm-10pm
10pm-12am
Scheduled departures
No of aircraft
0 10 20 30
12 am-2am
2am-4am
4am-6am
6am-8am
8am-10am
10am-12pm
12pm-2pm
2pm-4pm
4pm-6pm
6pm-8pm
8pm-10pm
10pm-12am
Scheduled Arrivals
No of aircraft
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 15
regional aircraft movements. This arrangement will be problematic since each aircraft takes
different time to load or unload the passengers or cargo or both. (Eg: aircraft of cargo over
passenger aircraft, big passenger aircraft over smaller passenger aircraft). Therefore due to
delays in the airport, customer dissatisfactions and damages to cargo (Perishables), disruption
of normal schedules of airlines and associated costs will be possible. “A slot management
system is indicative of a failure of governments or airports to invest in adequate infrastructure
to keep pace with airline demand” says Peter Stanton, Head of Scheduling and Baggage
Services at IATA.
BIA is not a very congested airport, when compared to other busiest airports in the
world. In the United States, most international airports (apart from New York JFK, Newark,
Chicago O’Hare, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Orlando) are free from slot allocations
even though those airports are having more congestion than in BIA. Therefore, due to costs,
delays and complexities of slots allocation, it is advisable of not implementing it at BIA at
current level of demand. But slot management system will ensure the efficiency of airport
operations and allow aircraft to enter to the congested airport in a controlled way.
Auto Docking System at BIA
This is a fully automated visual docking guidance system which gives information to
a pilot attempting to park an aircraft at an airport stand, usually via visual methods and this
system has been installed at the aircraft parking stands A6,A7,A8,A9,B10,B11,B12,B14 of
BIA. The system uses laser scanning technology; it tracks aircraft signature and the lateral
and longitudinal position of the aircraft. 3D technology makes sure the correct indication of
stop is provided to pilot. The necessary information for correct docking is shown on a LED
display pane.
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 16
Signage of Safe gate (Source – Wikipedia)
Far away, Right of centerline On centerline Left of centerline
No guidance
x
Near stopline Prepare to stop Stop now Overshop stop point
A rough sketch of the LED display and
laser scanning unit (Source: Civil
Aviation Authority)
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 17
Benefits of Auto docking
Ensure safety - Provides correct stop indication for the aircraft and tracks aircraft
signature, its lateral and longitudinal position.
Displays necessary information such as Azimuth guidance, continuous closing rate
information, aircraft type on a LED display to facilitate correct docking of aircraft.
High accuracy and efficiency due to fully automated system
Improvements to enhance the aircraft handling capacity in the maneuvering
area
Maneuvering area consists of areas to take off, landing, taxiing.
Expanding the existing runway and improving its quality
Building runways to handle increased aircraft traffic and as an alternative to
the existing runway(in emergency situations)
Upgrade taxiways/construct new taxiways in such a way that they maximum
contribute to runway capacity handling and to make efficient connections
between runway and apron (Eg; Rapid exit taxiways).
Use of technology and information system aid for passenger and cargo
handling.
Proper and efficient maintenance of runway, taxiways.
Regular inspection and proper maintenance of stop way to facilitate an aircraft
with a complete stop in an emergency situation ( Eg ; engine failure)
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 18
Airport Infrastructure
A) & B) Layout of the land side and airside of BIA is attached at the end of the report
C)
ICAO classification of BIA: VCBI
Category of BIA; International airport
Firefighting category – Category 10
Category 10 requirements
Aircraft overall length – 76m to 90m
Maximum fuselage width - 8m
Air Traffic Services and Navigation
Main three types of Air traffic services
A)
Area control service
Objective of this service is to provide air traffic control service for en-route controlled
flights except the aircraft associated with arrival or departure routes or ground
movements.
Approach control service
Objective of this service is to provide air traffic control service for controlled flights
associated with arrival or departure except the aircraft associated with ground
movements.
Aerodrome control service
Objective of this service is to provide of air traffic control service for aerodrome
traffic located around the airfield
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 19
B)
BIA control tower provides both the local and en-route weather information to pilots. It has
weather radar and facility of receiving satellite cloud pictures
C)
AIP stands for Aeronautical Information Publication, a publication issued by or with the
authority of a state. The publication contains aeronautical information relating to air
navigation. It acts as a manual to pilots to get the details of regulations, procedures and other
information relating to the country the aircraft flies. Usually it is issued by the relevant civil
aviation Organisation of the country.
ICAO guides the structure and its contents by international agreements. Every publication
therefore has mainly three parts, general, en route and aerodromes. It contains mainly charts
and details of charts
D) Following Aids are used at BIA
Visual Approach Slope Indicator (VASI):Helps pilots fly the approach for landing
VHF omnidirectional range (VOR):Help pilots find the direction to the airport. VORs are
often accompanied by a DME. BIA has an advanced VOR, which is DVOR, Doppler VOR.
Distance Measuring Equipment (DME):Determine the distance to the VOR. VORs are also
located off airports, where they serve to provide airways for aircraft to navigate upon.
Instrument landing system (ILS):Find the runway and fly the correct approach, even if they
cannot see the ground. Currently BIA uses ILS cat 1 system for runway 23 with middle
marker. The number of instrument approaches based on the use of the Global Positioning
System (GPS) is rapidly increasing and may eventually be the primary means for instrument
landings.
Radar:The aircraft's horizontal and vertical movement is tracked via radar, and the controller
tells the pilot his position relative to the approach slope.
Runway lights
(Once the pilots can see the runway lights, they may continue with a visual landing.)
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 20
E) Definition of Flight Information Region: An airspace of defined dimensions within which
flight information service and alerting service are provided.
(Map source – Google maps)
Coordinates
100000N 0800000E - 100000N 0820000E -
060000N 0920000E - 020000S 0920000E -
020000S 0780000E - 060000N 0780000E -
100000N 0800000E
Total area of the Colombo flight information region is 97500 sq.km
Adjoining FIRs
o India (Chennai
o Maldives (Male`)
o Indonesia (Medan /Jakarta)
o Australia (Melbourne)
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 21
F)
Following means are evidenced at BIA in respect of communication and surveillance
facilities
Long range HF radio equipment
o VHF, UHF communication
AMHS ; Aeronautical Message Handling System
DVCSS ; Digital Voice Communication Switching System
AWOS ;Automated Weather Observation Systems
ATIS (Automatic Terminal Information Service): Pilots can listen to ATIS
broadcast before they contact local control unit. It helps to reduce the
workload of the controller and the frequency congestion.
Radar -Mono Pulse Secondary Surveillance Radar (MSSR)
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 22
Ground Handling and Cargo Processing
Ground Handling
Currently SriLankan Ground Handling is the only ground handler at Bandaranaike
International Airport (BIA). It is a subsidiary of SriLankan Airlines Ltd, cater to ground
handling requirements of more than 30 regular airlines and ADHOC carriers operated at
Bandaranaike International Airport, including SriLankan Airlines. They employ
approximately 2000 well trained and experienced employees in their ground handling
services such as following:-
Aircraft maintenance
Aircraft servicing and cleaning
Airport aviation security
Cargo and mail handling (on/off-airport)
Catering services
Flight operations and crew administration
Coordination of Fueling with relevant parties
Load control and communications
Passenger and baggage handling
Ramp services
Representation and accommodation
Station supervision and administration
Surface transport of passengers and crews
Unit Load Device control and management
Hotel accommodation and leisure activities
Furthermore there are some other organizations working withSriLankan Ground Handling
to enhance the quality and efficiency of their services. In early 2013, SriLankan Airlines and
John Keells Computer Services (JKCS) jointly launched “Evinta Hand Held Check-In” at the
Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) with the aim of reducing the traffic at the airport
check-in counters. With this, SriLankan ground agents come to the passengers, carry out the
check-in process and print out boarding passes from a portable printer within a matter of a
few minutes.
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 23
In any product or service providing industry, most of the times it is better to have more
than one player providing services to enhance the quality of the customer service eliminating
monopoly. In world context recently European Union has decided to have more competition
by increasing the minimum number of ground handling service providers up to three in EU
airports handling more than 15 million passengers and/or 200,000 tons of freight per year
(London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester, Dublin and London Stansted). They have
decided so to enhance quality and efficiency of ground-handling services to maximize
passenger satisfaction. But in BIA the number of passengers handled is around six million
passengers a year. With that demand it is not difficult it to be done by a single service
provider. Other than that operating more than one ground handler might be complex. There
will be separate procedures and lack of integration might lead to inconvenience and
confusion for passengers. Space required also will increase to have separate functions. So it is
advisable to stick with only one ground handler at BIA. But at the same time the government
and relevant authorities must keep an eye on every service activity in ground handling to
eliminate any exploitation done to passengers due to monopoly power.
Ground Handling Equipment/Vehicles
In an airport apron, lots of specially designed vehicles and equipment are used to
support aircraft maintenance and service, cargo and passenger handling. It is very important
to have speedy, efficient, and accurate equipment in ground handling in order to minimize the
aircraft turnaround time.
Aircraft Maintenance & Service Equipment/Vehicles
Refueler Water Truck Lavatory service vehicle
Self-contained fuel truck or
hydrant truck use to fuel the
aircraft
Empty lavatories onboard
aircraft and refill with a mixture
of water and a disinfectant
Use to carry drinking water and
fill up tanks in aircraft
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 24
Ground power Unit Air starter Pushback tugs and tractors
Cargo & Passenger Handling Equipment/Vehicles
Baggage carts Tugs and Tractors Forklifts
Container/ULD handlers Conveyor belt loaders Passenger boarding stairs
Supply power to aircraft
parked on the ground
A vehicle with a built-in gas
turbine engine, use to generate the
necessary quantity of air to start
the engine
A powerful engine with
wheels use to push an
aircraft away from the gate
when it is ready to take off
Transports mail, cargo and
other materials between the
aircraft and the terminal
Move equipment that cannot
move itself such as baggage carts,
lavatory carts, air starters, etc
Vehicle with movable belts for
loading and unloading of
baggage and cargo to and from
aircraft
Use for loading and unloading
of cargo placed in containers
or ULD
Use to move people between
the aircraft door and ground
Use to lift and move pallets and
other cargo within the airport
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 25
Trolleys Apron Buses
Cargo Handling Capacity & Current Utilization
Cargo Facilities
Cargo
Terminal
Handling Capacity 250,000 MT/Year
Ground 7785 m2
First Floor 2,000 m2
Freezer & Cold Room 133 m3
Cargo Village
Terminal I
Floor Area 2,787 m2
Cargo Village
Terminal II
Floor Area 1,858 m2
Cargo Village
Terminal III
Total Area 2,320 m2
Current cargo capacity at Bandaranaike International Airport is 250,000 metric tons
per year. Moreover they possess 20 forklifts operated by well trained employees to support
cargo handling. With the expansion project commenced in 2012 it is supposed to double the
cargo handling capacity to accommodate potential future needs of the industry. SriLankan
Cargo, the cargo subsidiary of SriLankan Airlines is the main cargo handling body operates
at BIA. They have separate storage rooms for unitized and loose cargo in both cold and
freeze conditions.
In 2010 BIA has handled cargo volume of 156,142 metric tons. In 2012 it was
approximately 180,000 metric tons showinga high increment in cargo handling within the
airport.
Transport containers and pallets Transport people from the
terminal to either an aircraft or
another terminal
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 26
Cargo Handling Process
Srilankan cargo is the cargo handling agent at Bandaranaike International Airport. They
receive cargo from both freight forwarders and individual consignors. After receiving the
ready for carriage (RFC) shipment to the airport with master/house air waybills and other
documents, following process is done in the airport.
After landing on the destination airport the opposite process happens and eventually cargo
is loaded into the truck. But in transit cargo process this process will expand due to the
involvement of more than one airport. In that case cargo in transferred into another aircraft at
an air cargo hub. That procedure looks like below,
In some cases where high priority or urgent cargo included in transit cargo, they are
loaded into the next aircraft as in the same pack/ULD which it was in the previous aircraft
without breaking down. That process looks as this,
Unload Truck
Incoming Check
&
Administra-tion
Sort goods &
documents
Outgoing checks
&
administra-tion
Build ULD's
Ramp transport
&
Security check
Load aircraft
Flight
Flight 1 Unload aircraft Ramp transport
Breakdown ULD's Incoming checks & administration
Sort goods & documents
Outgoing checks & administration
Build ULD's
Ramp transport & security check
Load aircraft Flight 2
Flight 1 Unload aircraft Ramp transport Load aircraft Flight 2
Landside Airside
Landside
Airside
Airside
Airside
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 27
Documents Involved in Air Cargo Exporting/Importing
In every cargo import and export process,correct documents with complete and accurate
information is very important to avoid any potential inconveniences for parties involved.
There are different kinds of documents issued relevant with air transportation, custom and
other regulatory bodies, financial and commercial purposes.
Air Transport Documents
Air Waybill
House Air Waybill
Shipper’s Declaration for Dangerous Goods
Acceptance Declaration Form
Freight Arrival Notice
Delivery notice
Legal Documents
Certificate of Origin
Import / Export License
Customs Invoice
Custom Declaration form (Import / Export Declaration)
Commercial Documents
Quotation
Sales Contract
Pro Forma Invoice
Packing List
Insurance Policy/ Certificate
Financial Documents
Documentary Credit (D/C)
Collection Instruction
Bill of Exchange (B/E)
Trust Receipt (T/R)
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 28
Dangerous Goods Identification
At an airport some goods carried by the passengers and within cargo are regarded and
classified as dangerous goods by main global air transportation regulatory bodies such as UN,
ICAO and IATA. Those goods are either prohibited totally or allowed to carry with the
permission of relevant airline and airport after packaging and labeling as a dangerous good
under special safety conditions.
At Bandaranaike International Airport those dangerous items are handled in accordance
with IATA laws and regulations by 24 hours working IATA qualified staff. Sometimes
passengers might carry dangerous goods intentionally or ignorantly. So passenger carry-on
baggage and suitcases are checked manually or with a scanner. In cargo handling dangerous
goods are recognized by globally recognized warning signs on the packaging. At the same
time with any air cargo package, the shipper should either describe the contents or confirm
that the cargo does not contain dangerous goods to inform relevant cargo handling parties at
the airport. If the cargo contains dangerous goods, with declared dangerous goods shipper
should complete the “Shippers Declaration” form. With that the shipper ensures that all the
parties know what contains and it is handled properly on land and aircraft on board.
Classification of Dangerous Goods & Signage
There are 9 classes of dangerous goods which are globally accepted. Those every class is
having a unique diamond-shaped sign to identify the danger accompanied with the good. So
the manufacturer or person packaging the product is responsible to display the correct class
label on every dangerous good transported via air.
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 29
1. Explosives - substances used to produce explosions in work such as earthmoving or
demolition
2. Gases
2.1.Flammable gases - gases which can burst into flames in air on contact with a
source of ignition
2.2.Non-flammable, non-toxic gases - gases which are neither flammable or toxic
but can cause an asphyxiation hazard
2.3.Toxic gases - gases which are toxic and disperse rapidly if there is a leak
which can cause death or serious injury if inhaled
3. Flammable liquids - liquids which can burn on contact with a source of ignition
4. Flammable solids
4.1.Flammable solids - solids which are easily ignited either by external sources
such as sparks and flames or can cause or contribute to fire
subjected to friction
4.2.Spontaneously combustible - Substances likely to heat spontaneously and
ignite
4.3.Dangerous when wet - produce flammable or toxic gases if contact with water
5. Oxidising substances and organic peroxides
5.1.Oxidising substances - substances which can contribute to or accelerate the
combustion of other combustible or flammable materials
5.2.Organic peroxides - substances can ignite spontaneously and possibly explode
6. Toxic and infectious substances
6.1.Toxic substances - substances which can cause death or serious injury if they
are swallowed, inhaled or make contact with skin
6.2.Infectious substances - substances containing pathogens, which can be
life-threatening or fatal disease in humans or animals
7. Radioactive materials - materials or combinations which spontaneously emit harmful
levels of radiation
8. Corrosive substances - corrosive substances which may destroy or permanently
damage another substance it comes into contact with
9. Miscellaneous substances - substances which can cause danger not covered by other
classes described above
TL 3110 – Air Transport Page 31
References
http://www.airport.lk/
http://www.srilankan.com/pdf/annual-
report/SriLankan_Airlines_Annual_Report_2011_2012.PDF
http://www.srilankan.com/ground-handling/services/spectrum-of-services.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_support_equipment
http://www.neurope.eu/article/eu-increases-competition-ground-handling-services
http://www.airport.lk/about-aasl/air-cargo.php
http://air-cargo-how-it-works.blogspot.com/2011/01/air-transport.html
http://hong-kong-economy-research.hktdc.com/business-news/article/Small-Business-
Resources/Common-Import-Export-Documents/sbr/en/1/1X000000/1X006MLL.htm