What is the difference between accessible and inaccessible dangerous goods by air?

Carriers charge more for accessible dangerous goods that must remain reachable in flight, such as certain class 2 or class 3 items, than for inaccessible goods that can be stowed away. The accessibility toggle reflects that higher air handling fee.

Does the packing group change the surcharge?

Packing group reflects the degree of danger, with I being the most hazardous and III the least. Some carriers load the surcharge for packing group I goods because they require stricter handling, which this tool models as a small uplift.

Are these fees on top of the freight rate?

Yes. Hazmat surcharges are handling fees added to the base freight to cover the extra documentation, segregation, and safety handling dangerous goods require. Add them to your freight cost for the full shipment price.

Why is air hazmat more expensive than ground?

Air transport of dangerous goods carries the strictest regulations under IATA rules, requiring trained acceptance staff, strict quantity limits, and segregation, so air surcharges are typically the highest, followed by ocean and then ground.

Is class 1 explosives or class 7 radioactive covered?

This estimator covers the common commercial classes. Class 1 explosives and class 7 radioactive materials require specialist carriers and bespoke pricing, so treat any figure for those as a rough placeholder and get a direct quote.

Hazmat / Dangerous Goods Surcharge Estimator

Dangerous-goods shipments carry handling surcharges on top of freight that vary widely by mode, hazard class, and packing group. This estimator stacks the indicative per-shipment and per-package fees carriers publish so you can budget the true cost of moving regulated goods.

How it works

A base surcharge for the mode and class is combined with per-package fees and a packing-group uplift:

base       = modeClassFee(mode, class)
accessFee  = (air & accessible) ? airAccessibleAdder : 0
pgUplift   = (packing group I) ? base × 0.15 : 0
total      = base + accessFee + pgUplift + packages × perPackageFee

Air carries the highest base fees because IATA rules demand trained acceptance, segregation, and strict limits; ocean is intermediate and ground the lowest.

Example and tips

A class 3 flammable-liquid air shipment of four accessible packages in packing group II might run a base of about 150, an accessible adder of 90, and 4 × 18 in per-package fees — roughly 312 in surcharges before freight. Always classify your UN number and packing group precisely from the dangerous goods list, because a wrong class is both a compliance risk and the main reason a surcharge estimate is off.