Uneducated clients learn the hard way
PERFUMES MAY be the way to a woman's heart, but airlines are not so impressed when these items are booked and not marked as dangerous cargo.
People don't realise that perfumes are among highly classified flammable liquids and present a hazard, says Ashley Spoelstra of TNT International Express.
Many individuals are prepared to pack up a bottle of perfume and have it dispatched under the heading of a gift. Manufacturers are equally ignorant of the laws and we have to spend considerable time telling them of their error, recalling the goods, having them repacked under proper supervision and then changing the documentation before letting the airline have the consignment.
Perfumes, cans of deodorants and aerosols, run-of-the-mill lighters and even flavouring extracts are classified as dangerous goods, but manufacturers often try to move them without observing the regulations.
There is a general lack of education in these subjects in the market place, she says. Oh, yes. We have top-notch clients who know the laws and let us know immediately if the goods they are having us handle are classified as dangerous.
But there are others on whom we have to prevail from day one to get them to do the proper documentation and labelling. There are those who object, take an obstinate stance and try other forwarders. But they come short in the long run and learn the hard way that the regulations are tight and have to be observed.
We have excellent dangerous goods packers and the path down the rest of the logistics chain is filled with people who know the rules. But the true problem lies at the beginning, with the shippers. That is where much of our time is taken up dealing with their own lack of knowledge or intent to breach the regulations.
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