Altor guide · 2026-08-29

Reading a packing instruction without losing an afternoon

The packing instruction field is already filled. Three digits, copied from the list. The fibreboard box is taped. Then the acceptance desk at the cargo terminal opens it. The inner packagings are not the ones that instruction allows. The number on the paper matched IATA DGR Section 4.2. The packing did not match IATA DGR Section 5.

That is the afternoon people lose. They copied a code. They did not read a packing instruction.

What the regulation actually requires

A packing instruction is not the three digit number on the List of Dangerous Goods. That number is the pointer.

ICAO TI Table 3-1, implemented in the IATA DGR List of Dangerous Goods in Section 4.2, gives each entry a passenger packing instruction and a passenger maximum net quantity per package, and a cargo packing instruction and a cargo maximum net quantity per package. Those cells tell you which instruction to open, and the ceiling for that package. They do not list authorized inner packagings, outer packagings, or extra conditions.

IATA DGR Section 5 is the packing instruction text. Combination packagings, single packagings, inner types, inner quantity limits, and additional packing requirements live there. The table maximum and the inner limits inside the instruction are two different numbers. Both have to be met.

A worked example from the current table. UN 1263 Paint, Class 3, packing groups I, II, and III. Packing group I: passenger packing instruction 351 at 1 L per package, cargo packing instruction 361 at 30 L. Packing group II: passenger 353 at 5 L, cargo 364 at 60 L. Packing group III: passenger 355 at 60 L, cargo 366 at 220 L. Same UN number. Same proper shipping name. Three passenger packing instructions. Copying last week's packing group II line onto this week's packing group III drum writes the wrong instruction before anyone opens Section 5.

A single packing group entry is simpler and still not a copy job. UN 1090 Acetone, Class 3, packing group II. Passenger aircraft: packing instruction 353, 5 L per package. Cargo aircraft: packing instruction 364, 60 L per package. The 5 L is the passenger ceiling. It is not permission to fill every inner packaging in packing instruction 353 to 5 L. That answer is in Section 5.

For a US originating air shipment, 49 CFR 172.101 authorizes packaging by pointing at 49 CFR Part 173, not by reprinting an IATA packing instruction number. 49 CFR 173.27 is the aircraft packaging and quantity rule. Meeting the IATA instruction does not excuse a miss against 49 CFR 173.27.

The Shipper's Declaration has to show the packing instruction you actually used. IATA DGR 8.1.6.9 is how packing instruction, package count, and net quantity go on the form. The operator then runs the acceptance check under IATA DGR 9.1.3. A packing instruction number that does not match the packagings in the box fails that check even when the UN number is right.

The mistake people make

Desks copy the packing instruction number from Section 4.2, or from last week's SKU, and treat the job as done.

Section 14 of the safety data sheet may print a packing instruction from a different mode or a previous edition. The inner bottles in the cage may be the ones the warehouse always uses. Neither is a reading of IATA DGR Section 5 for this consignment.

Packing group drift is the paint pattern. The SDS still says packing group II. This batch tested packing group III. The declaration keeps packing instruction 353. The current list for packing group III passenger aircraft is packing instruction 355.

Aircraft type is the other skip. Passenger 353 is not cargo 364. If the booking is passenger, packing instruction 364 is the wrong pointer even before Section 5 opens.

Limited quantity is the third skip. Several Class 3 rows show a Y packing instruction next to the passenger cell, Y341 at 1 L on UN 1090 packing group II, Y344 at 10 L on UN 1263 packing group III. Writing the Y number without packing to that instruction is not a shortcut.

Paper versus box is the last one. The declaration says packing instruction 353. The inner packagings are not authorized by that instruction, or the outer packaging is not a UN specification packaging it allows. The operator reads the paper and the box together.

A packing instruction that does not match the packagings is a paperwork failure that parks freight at the cargo terminal. What to do after a rejection sits at https://altor.consulting/rejected.html.

How to fix it

Lock the UN number, packing group, and aircraft type from the booking before anyone writes a packing instruction.

Open the current IATA DGR Section 4.2 list for this UN number and this packing group. Read the packing instruction number and the maximum net quantity per package for the aircraft you are actually using. Then open that packing instruction in IATA DGR Section 5. Confirm inner packaging type, inner quantity, outer packaging, and any additional packing requirements against that text. For a US originating air offering, read 49 CFR 173.27 as well.

Write the packing instruction that belongs to that column and packing group. UN 1263 packing group II on a passenger aircraft is packing instruction 353, not 355 and not 364. Enter package count and net quantity per IATA DGR 8.1.6.9.2, per package, inside the table maximum and the inner limits of the instruction.

Walk the packages against the paper in the same order IATA DGR 9.1.3 will. UN number, proper shipping name, packing group, packing instruction, and net quantity on the paper have to describe the packagings in the box.

If you cannot stand behind the packing instruction under 49 CFR 172.204 and IATA DGR 8.1.6.12, fix the line. Then sign.

Altor pre-checks completed Dangerous Goods Declarations line by line against the current regulations and returns a written report, with every finding cited, within one business day. You keep the pen. altor.consulting

Catch the rejection before the carrier does

Send your completed declaration before you tender it. A line by line advisory report comes back within 24 hours, every finding cited. $95 flat, one click, and you keep the pen.

Pre-check my DGD · $95 → All services