Air freight from Turkey: weight, AWB, liability The sums are done before take-off.

For samples, spare parts, perishables and shipments carrying deadline risk, a few days saved usually pays for the difference: a stopped production line costs more than the air freight premium. If the same cargo meets its deadline by sea or road, that is what we recommend; weighing the modes side by side is the approach set out on our services page.

On a consolidated shipment your cargo travels with others: cheaper, but possibly a day longer. Direct shipment is the fastest. Which one is right is a conversation about deadline and budget together.

Dividing by 6,000 means one cubic metre counts as 166.667 kg in the air (1,000,000 ÷ 6,000). Textiles, foam-packed parts and cartons with a lot of empty space are therefore billed heavier than the scale says; packed dimensions are the first question of any quote.

6,000 is the general rule, not an absolute one: carrier tariffs carry exceptions and rounding rules. To enter your dimensions and work it out, use our chargeable weight calculator; it applies the air cargo rounding rules.

Under the Montreal Convention an air waybill is delivered for cargo; any other means that preserves a record of the carriage, an electronic record for instance, may replace it (art. 4). The consignor makes it out in three original parts: one for the carrier, one for the consignee, and a third that the carrier signs and hands to the consignor once the cargo has been accepted (art. 7).

The document is prima facie evidence of the contract, of acceptance of the cargo and of the conditions of carriage; so are its statements of weight, dimensions, packing and number of packages (art. 11). The consignor answers for the correctness of the particulars and indemnifies the carrier for damage caused by wrong ones (art. 10).

IATA defines the air waybill as a non-negotiable document. At destination the cargo is claimed not by whoever presents the document but by the named consignee, on payment of the charges due (art. 13); the consignor's right to stop the cargo or redirect it ends when the consignee's right begins (art. 12). An exporter who wants payment tied to the document has to secure it another way; the difference is explained on our bill of lading page.

Under the Montreal Convention the carrier's liability for cargo in the case of destruction, loss, damage or delay is limited per kilogram in SDR (Special Drawing Rights) (art. 22(3)). The original figure was 17 SDR; ICAO's five-yearly reviews have raised it several times, to 22 from 28 December 2019 and to 26 SDR from 28 December 2024. Türkiye has been a party to the convention since 26 March 2011.

The only way above the limit is a special declaration of interest in delivery when the cargo is handed over, with a supplementary sum if the carrier asks for one. The paragraph that lifts limits for intent or recklessness (art. 22(5)) applies only to passenger delay and baggage, not to cargo. The carrier is not liable if it proves inherent defect of the cargo, defective packing by someone other than the carrier, war, or an act of public authority on entry, exit or transit (art. 18(2)).

Complain in writing as soon as damage is discovered and within 14 days of receipt at the latest, or within 21 days for delay; miss the deadline and no action lies against the carrier, save for fraud (art. 31). The time bar is 2 years (art. 35). The limits for all five modes are on our carrier liability limits page; value above the limit is a matter for cargo insurance.

The broad principles sit in Annex 18 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation; the ICAO Technical Instructions (Doc 9284) supply the detail. The 2025–2026 edition has been in use since 1 January 2025 and stays valid until 31 December 2026. IATA's Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR) bring together the rules on classification, packing, marking, labelling and documentation.

The consignor answers for the correctness of what it declares (Montreal art. 10). If your cargo contains dangerous goods, say so at the start of the quote request; a price built before the class and packing are known is incomplete. The rules by mode are on our dangerous goods rules page.

Air shipments use one of the seven rules for any mode: EXW, FCA, CPT, CIP, DAP, DPU, DDP. Where the buyer arranges carriage, write FCA instead of FOB; where the seller pays the freight, CPT instead of CFR; where the seller pays freight and insurance, CIP instead of CIF.

Under FCA, risk passes where the goods are handed to the carrier nominated by the buyer. That is why the ICC's introduction to Incoterms® 2020 asks for the place of delivery to be named as precisely as possible: the airport cargo terminal, or the forwarder's warehouse? Why it matters is set out in FOB on an air freight invoice and FOB or FCA.

Customs brokerage is in-house: our own customs broker handles export and import declarations, HS classification and certificates of origin and movement. The documents you will need are listed on our export documents page.

On import the clock runs faster than by sea: goods arriving by air must be assigned a customs-approved treatment or use within 20 days of the summary declaration; by sea the period is 45 days (Turkish Customs Law No. 4458, art. 46(2)).