More Shippers Turn to Online Dangerous Goods Training as Air Cargo Rules Tighten
The rules governing dangerous goods in air cargo are updated every year, and every year they get more demanding. Training providers say the result is a steady shift toward online courses, as shippers and freight forwarders look for certification that fits around the working day.
Dangerous goods make up a significant share of everything that flies. IATA, the industry body that writes the Dangerous Goods Regulations, puts the figure at more than 1.25 million shipments a year, covering everything from lithium batteries and aerosols to industrial chemicals and medical samples. Every one of those shipments requires someone who knows how to classify, pack and declare it correctly.
Getting that training has traditionally meant classroom days and travel. Increasingly, it happens online. DG Online Training, the only UK CAA-approved training provider authorised to offer dangerous goods by air courses through e-learning, has built its model around remote invigilated exams and courses organised by job function, from cabin crew and ground handlers to shippers and packers.
“Most of our learners are fitting training around shifts, not the other way round,” said a representative. “The course content is identical to a classroom course, but people can work through it when the job allows, and the exam is invigilated remotely, so the certification carries the same weight.”
The company is also the UK’s only IATA Competency Based Training and Assessment Centre, which allows it to issue internationally recognised IATA certificates rather than a simple course completion letter. That distinction matters for employers shipping goods across borders, where a certificate that is not recognised can mean a consignment held up at the point of export.
The tightening regulatory picture explains some of the demand. Lithium batteries, in particular, have been the subject of successive rule changes, and regulators have made clear they intend to keep raising the bar on how they are packed and declared. The 2026 edition of the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations, effective from the start of the year, continued that trend.
For the freight industry, the message is that competence is becoming a compliance issue, not just a training box to tick. With more airlines and ground handlers auditing the certificates they accept, the value of a course from an approved provider, delivered in a way that fits a shift pattern, is easier to see.