Dangerous goods training compliance: mid-year review for 2026
With 2026 well past its halfway point, it is a sensible moment for organisations involved in the transport of dangerous goods by air to take stock of their training position. The 67th edition of the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations has now been in force since 1 January 2026, which means every shipper, operator, ground handler and agent has been working under the current edition for more than six months. A mid-year review is the natural point to confirm that training records are current, that personnel are certified for the functions they actually perform, and that nothing has slipped since the start of the year.
The 67th edition brought enough change to justify the review. It introduced the first dedicated packing instructions for sodium-ion batteries, with packing instructions 976, 977 and 978 taking effect from the start of the year, and it updated the guidance on batteries carried by passengers, including the restrictions on power banks, spare batteries and electronic cigarettes that came into force on 1 January 2026. Those passenger-facing rules continue to generate questions at check-in and screening points, and they illustrate how quickly the regulatory picture can move within a single edition.
Training obligations do not stand still either. Recurrent dangerous goods training is typically required within a 24-month cycle, and the clock runs from the date of the previous training regardless of how busy the operation has been. Personnel who were trained in the first half of 2024, before the 67th edition was issued, are therefore at or beyond the end of their current cycle, and their refresher must bring them up to the current edition rather than simply repeat the old material. Where regulations have changed materially, the expectation is that affected personnel are updated promptly, and both the sodium-ion provisions and the battery guidance qualify.
The review should start with the training matrix. Each job function in the organisation should be mapped to its IATA category, from the personnel preparing consignments under category 7.1 to the staff processing or accepting dangerous goods under category 7.3, and each person should hold current evidence of training for the functions they perform. The matrix should also record expiry dates, because a certificate that is current today can lapse quietly before the next review. Gaps appear most often in growing operations, where staff have changed roles, new hires have joined, or a function that was once outsourced has been brought in-house without the training being brought along with it.
Acceptance staff deserve particular attention. The 7.3 role, the personnel responsible for processing or accepting dangerous goods consignments, is the last line of defence before a package reaches an aircraft, and the new battery entries in the 67th edition have changed some of what those staff need to check. The acceptance check itself remains the discipline that catches errors the shipper has made, and it only works when the person performing it knows the current regulations well enough to spot a consignment that is wrong in a way the paperwork does not immediately reveal.
Training is also assessed differently than it was a decade ago. Competency-based training and assessment, CBTA, has become the standard framework for dangerous goods training, and it measures whether a person can perform the tasks their function requires rather than whether they attended a course. Under CBTA, the assessment mirrors the job itself, and for acceptance staff that means demonstrating the checks they will perform at the counter, not simply recalling definitions. A mid-year review is a good opportunity to confirm that new starters have been assessed against the current competencies.
The good news for employers is that meeting these obligations no longer requires classroom days. The United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority approves training providers for dangerous goods by air, and approved e-learning courses are available that cover the current DGR with remotely invigilated exams. Remote invigilation preserves the formal assessment that regulators expect, because learners sit the examination under live supervision through their webcam, but it removes the travel and scheduling burden that once made recurrent training expensive for dispersed teams. For employers with staff across multiple sites, the same course can be delivered consistently to every location, which avoids the drift that happens when different branches rely on different instructors.
Dangerous Goods Online Training (DGOT), a UK Civil Aviation Authority approved provider, delivers its dangerous goods courses in exactly this format, and employers conducting a mid-year review can find the 7.3 acceptance staff course, along with the full range of job function categories, on [their training website](https://www.dgonline.training/product/7-3-h-6-3-personnel-responsible-for-processing-or-accepting-dangerous-goods-consignments-iata-certification/). The material reflects the 67th edition, including the sodium-ion packing instructions and the January battery changes, so a refresher taken now brings staff current in a single step.
For many organisations the review will conclude that the training position is broadly sound, with a handful of certificates approaching expiry and a few individuals who need a refresher after the January changes. That is a healthy outcome, because the review itself is the safeguard: it converts a scattered set of training records into a current, defensible picture of who is trained for what. Regulators and airline auditors look for exactly that kind of evidence, and so do the insurers and commercial customers of businesses operating in this sector.
The second half of 2026 will bring the usual rhythm of peak season operations, and it is far easier to address training gaps now, while schedules are calmer, than to discover them in the middle of the busy period. For shippers, forwarders, ground handlers and operators, the mid-year checklist is short but significant: confirm the matrix, refresh anyone whose 24-month cycle has elapsed, make sure the January changes are covered, and keep the evidence where it can be found. Compliance in dangerous goods is not a status that is awarded once; it is a position that has to be maintained.