Unit load device

A unit load device, or ULD, (ULD) is a pallet or a container. It is used to load luggage, freight, and mail on wide-body aircraft and specific narrow-body aircraft. It allows a large quantity of cargo to be bundled into a single unit. As with other cargo transport, this leads to fewer units to load, it saves ground crews time and effort and helps prevent delayed flights. Each ULD has its own packing list (or manifest) so that its contents can be tracked.

Types
There are two kinds of unit load devices: pallets and boxes. The boxes are similar to shipping containers: they are mostly made with metal (usually aluminum) and have standard attachment points that let them be moved easily. The pallets are usually metal with sides that attach to a cargo net. Below is a table of sizes of ULDs. The volume listed is the internal volume, the size of the inside of the container.

+ Volume indicated is internal volume. Container type Volume Dimensions(base width / overall width × depth × height)RemarksLD1"747-400/-400ER, Airplane Characteristics for Airport Planning", Section 2, Boeing, May 2011.156 / 234 × 153 × 163 cm(61.5 / 92 × 60.4 × 64 in) contoured, half widthLD2"767-200/200ER/300/300ER/300 Freighter/400ER, Airplane Characteristics for Airport Planning", Section 2, Boeing, May 2011.119 / 156 × 153 × 163 cm(47 / 61.5 × 60.4 × 64 in) contoured, half widthLD3156 / 201 × 153 × 163 cm(61.5 / 79 × 60.4 × 64 in) contoured, half width, dimension according to IATALD3-45156 / 244 × 153 × 114.3 cm(61.5 / 96 × 60.4 × 45 in) double contoured, full width, dimension according to IATA; for loading on Airbus A320 familyLD6318 / 407 × 153 × 163 cm(125 / 160 × 60.4 × 64 in) contoured, full width, equivalent to 2 LD3sLD8244 / 318 × 153 × 163 cm(96 / 125 × 60.4 × 64 in) contoured, full width, equivalent to 2 LD2s; DQF-prefixLD11318 × 153 × 163 cm(125 × 60.4 × 64 in) same as LD-6 but without contours; rectangular Pallet type Volume Linear dimensionsRemarksLD8153 × 244 cm(60 × 96 in) same floor dimensions as container variant; FQA-prefixLD11153 × 318 cm(60.4 × 125 in) same floor dimensions as container variant; FLA- and PLA-prefixesLD7(2 pallet variants)224 × 318 cm(88 × 125 in)244 × 318 cm(96 × 125 in) PAG- and P1P-prefixesPMC- and P6P-prefixes

References

Other websites

Category:Aviation infrastructure
Category:Containers