In 1965, the 10th Edition of the IATA Regulations relating to the carriage of restricted articles by air, there were 4 pages allocated to variations that had been notified by 6 States and 9 Operators.   

Sixty years later, this section is now 120 pages long and lists 250+ variations from nearly 80 States and 1250+ variations notified by over 170 operators. And while there are similarities between many of the operator variations, there are still a lot of ways in which the same outcome is expressed differently. As an example, there are 10 different ways in which “Fissile material will not be carried” has been written. Operator variations are usually developed in a collaborative environment and some “vintages” can be identified, where the wording will change slightly each year.  

The 67th edition of the DGRs will see a number of Operator Variations being editorially amended to provide for a consistent format, without changing the meaning or intent of the variation. Most of the changes relate to introducing consistent cross references and a more consistent structure to dangerous goods that will not be carried. Examples of these operator variations are: 

  • Airmail containing dangerous goods will not be accepted for carriage (see 2.4 and 10.2.2)  
  • Class 1 explosives will not be accepted for carriage, except for Division 1.4S.  
  • Dangerous goods in salvage packagings will not be accepted for carriage (see 5.0.1.6, 6.0.6, 6.7, 7.1.4 and 7.2.3.10).  
  • Fissile material will not be accepted for carriage (see 10.3.7 and 10.5.13). 
  • Liquid dangerous goods in single packagings of plastic drums and plastic jerricans must be prepared as follows:  
    • the plastic drums/plastic jerricans must be protected by other strong outer packaging, for example fibreboard box; or  
    • if prepared as an open overpack, a suitably sized plastic, foam or wooden pallet must be used to protect at least the top and bottom of the packaging.  
  • The carriage of carbon dioxide, Solid (Dry Ice), UN 1845, is limited by aircraft type and the net weight of Dry ice must be provided during the booking process to determine whether aircraft limits may be exceeded. 
  • UN 3556 Vehicle, lithium ion battery powered, UN 3557 Vehicle, lithium metal battery powered and UN 3558 Vehicle, sodium ion battery powered will not be accepted for carriage as cargo 

Other variations that have been editorially amended for standardization relate to:  

  • Dangerous goods in excepted quantities not being accepted for carriage 
  • Dangerous good in limited quantities, except ID8000, not being accepted for carriage  
  • Hazardous waste not being accepted for carriage  
  • High consequence dangerous goods not being accepted for carriage  
  • Self-balancing vehicles in cargo and passenger’s baggage not being permitted 
  • Self-balancing vehicles in passenger baggage not being permitted.  
  • Chemical oxygen generators (UN 3356) not being accepted for carriage  

Next Steps 

 

As the world heads further down the path of digitalization; so standardization becomes more important to improving operational consistency and efficiency. IATA will be working with operators in 2026 in order to standardize and provide a more structured presentation to the variations. The focus will be on matters such as: 

  • Registered variations that are not really variations; 
  • Operator fleet specific or operational procedures that ought be in the Company operations manual. 
  • Separating out variations relating to passengers from cargo 
  • Variations where the operator requires prior approval for (or will not accept) consignments which require the Approval of the State of the Operator. 

In the past, operators and shippers of dangerous goods have occasionally expressed difficulty in interpreting and applying State variations. Traditionally States engage with ICAO on their proposed variations and IATA will adopt them into the DGRs. Writing a variation that is clear and unambiguous in its expected intent is a challenging task, and can sometimes result in an unintended impact on the global transportation of air cargo. In 2026, we will be reaching out to States and inviting them to engage with IATA at the same time as they engage with ICAO, when considering and formulating State Variations.