The Cargo Aircraft Only Label (CAO Label – IATA)
These bright orange labels warn airline shipping personnel NOT to load dangerous cargo onto PASSENGER aircraft due to the threat that it may pose to the safety of the aircraft and its passengers.
The CAO label is required for all consignments containing dangerous goods that are shipped by cargo aircraft.
The label must be rectangular and a minimum size of 120x110mm. The printed text and images should be black on an orange (Pantone 151c/u) background and the label must be exactly as shown in the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations.
The Use of the CAO Label
The use of the CAO label is not a personal choice, or the most convenient one. There are very specific instances when the label should and should not be used, and shippers using the label must know their way around the List of Dangerous Goods in the IATA DGR, Section 4.2 ‘List of Dangerous Goods’ This provides crucial information about how to prepare air shipments.
The 4 most pertinent columns are:
- Column E: PG Packing Group
- Column I: Packing Instruction for ‘Passenger and Cargo Aircraft’ shipments
- Column J: Quantity limit per package for ‘Passenger and Cargo Aircraft’ shipments
- Column K: Packing Instruction for ‘Cargo Aircraft Only’ shipments
- Column L: Quantity limit per package for ‘Cargo Aircraft Only’ shipments.
When to Use the CAO label
Quantities exceed passenger aircraft limits:
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If the net quantity of the package or inner packaging is higher than allowed for passenger aircraft (columns I and J), you must ship on a cargo aircraft and use a CAO label.
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Check the Packing Instruction (PI) to see if reducing the quantity could allow passenger transport; otherwise, cargo shipment and label is required.
Same Packing Instruction but different max quantities
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Sometimes the PI is the same for passenger and cargo aircraft, but maximum net quantities differ (columns J vs. L).
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If your package exceeds the passenger limit but is within the cargo limit, shipment must be cargo aircraft only, requiring a CAO label.
Forbidden for passenger aircraft:
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If the UN number is forbidden for passenger transport (columns I and J), shipment is allowed only on cargo aircraft and the CAO label is mandatory.
When NOT to Use the CAO label:
For mixed shipments:
- If a package meets passenger aircraft limits (columns G/H for LQ or I/J for fully regulated), it must not carry a CAO label, even if shipped together with CAO-only packages.
Same Packing Instruction and same max quantities
- If passenger and cargo aircraft have the same Packing Instruction and the same maximum net quantity (columns I/J vs. K/L), no CAO label is allowed.
Same Packing Instruction with “no limit” quantities
- If both passenger and cargo aircraft show the same PI and “no limit” in columns J and L, the CAO label is forbidden.
Package fits passenger aircraft rules
- If prepared under the correct PI (column I) and within passenger aircraft limits (column J), the package must not be marked with a CAO label.
The History of the CAO Label
The original design of the Cargo label was first published in the 17th edition of the IATA Restricted Articles Regulations, which became effective 1974 and remained unchanged until 1st January 2013, when it was replaced with the present version.
The old Cargo label used to show the word ‘Danger’ in large letters but this was changed following a number of incidents where packages bearing the CAO label were actually loaded onto passenger aircraft.
Investigation showed that the label was partly at fault due to the lack of relevant keywords associating it as being for “Cargo Aircraft Only” and so the CAO label was revised to actually display these words and the old label was made obsolete on 1st January 2013.
This article should not be used in substitute for checking the exact requirements in the applicable modal regulations.
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