Belly Cargo
Belly Cargo is freight carried in the lower-deck holds (the “belly”) of a passenger aircraft, in the space below the cabin not taken up by passengers' baggage. A large share of the world's air freight moves this way — riding on scheduled passenger flights — because it uses spare capacity on routes airlines already fly, making it an efficient and widely available form of air cargo.
Belly capacity depends on the aircraft type and the passenger and baggage load, and cargo is loaded either loose (bulk) or in unit load devices (ULDs) on wide-body aircraft. Because it is tied to passenger schedules, belly cargo offers frequency and network reach but fluctuates with passenger operations — a dependence starkly exposed when passenger flights were grounded and belly capacity collapsed, sending rates soaring and boosting demand for freighters. Belly and freighter capacity together make up the air-cargo market.
Most air cargo rides in the belly of passenger jets, so air-freight capacity and rates are tightly linked to passenger flying — as the pandemic proved when grounded flights sent belly capacity and rates haywire. Understanding belly cargo (and its volatility) is key to reading air-freight availability and pricing on any route.
What is belly cargo?
Freight carried in the lower-deck holds of passenger aircraft, using capacity spare from passengers and baggage.
Why is belly capacity variable?
It depends on passenger flight schedules and loads, so it rises and falls with passenger operations — and vanished when flights were grounded.