Unit Load Device

Summary of Unit Load Device

A container used aboard aircraft for the purpose of unitizing cargo. Unit load devices, commonly known as ULDs, come in various configurations, depending upon the type of aircraft on which they are used as well as where they are stowed aboard the aircraft. On 747 cargo freighters, aluminum (and occasionally steel) twenty- and forty-foot containers are used in conjunction with smaller ULDs. Other aircraft use special steel pallets, covered with netting, or smaller devices. ULDs are usually stowed by airfreight forwarders and delivered to the airline intact, although large air shippers often stow and unload their own ULDs

(Main Author: William J. Miller)