Every industry has its jargon, and international freight has more than most. This glossary explains every term you will encounter when shipping luggage, personal effects or cargo from the UK, in plain English.
The contract of carriage and tracking document for air freight. Your AWB number is how you track your shipment and collect it at the destination. Format: 3-digit airline code plus 8 digits.
The freight facility at an airport, separate from the passenger terminal, where air cargo is processed and collected. Destination collections happen here, with your passport and AWB reference.
The weight you pay for: the greater of actual weight and volumetric weight. A light but bulky box is charged on its volume, not its scale weight.
The person or company receiving the shipment at the destination. For personal effects, the consignee are usually expected to be the same person as the shipper.
A shipment: one or more items travelling together under a single Air Waybill.
The official process of declaring goods to the destination country customs authority, paying any duty and tax, and receiving release of the goods.
Import tax charged by the destination country, calculated on the declared value and category of the goods. Used personal effects attract low or zero duty to many destinations.
Daily fees charged by the destination cargo terminal if goods are not collected within the free period (typically 2-5 days after arrival). Collect promptly to avoid these.
Items restricted or prohibited in air freight under IATA regulations: lithium batteries, aerosols, perfumes, flammables and more. See our prohibited items guide.
Service from your UK address to the destination address, including destination customs clearance and final delivery. Compare door-to-airport, where you collect from the destination cargo terminal.
Service where the final destination is the arrival airport cargo terminal, and the receiver collects in person. Our standard and most economical service.
The declaration made to UK customs (HMRC) when goods leave the country. We prepare this as part of every shipment.
A company that arranges transportation of goods on behalf of shippers, handling documentation, carrier booking and customs formalities. Excess Luggage Co. is a specialist personal effects freight forwarder.
The total weight of your item including all packaging.
An Air Waybill issued by a freight forwarder covering your specific shipment within a consolidated load.
The International Air Transport Association: the trade body whose dangerous goods regulations govern what can fly as air cargo.
The itemised list of contents in your shipment with quantities and values. Forms the basis of your customs declaration. Accuracy speeds clearance.
Used personal belongings: clothing, books, household items. A recognised customs category attracting favourable duty treatment to many destinations, distinct from commercial goods.
Goods that cannot travel in unaccompanied air freight: lithium batteries, aerosols, perfumes, currency, and more. See our full prohibited items guide.
Duty relief schemes for people relocating their home to a new country, allowing personal belongings to be imported duty-free subject to conditions. The UK scheme is ToR1. Many countries operate equivalents.
Luggage travelling as air cargo, separate from the passenger. Our core service since 1998, and the economical alternative to airline excess baggage fees.
A calculated weight based on dimensions: length x width x height in cm divided by 6000 for air freight. Applied when goods are bulky relative to their actual weight.