International Best Practices and the Legal Framework for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air in Nigeria

Abstract

It is an inexorable fact that some dangerous goods possess some inherently beneficial utility when properly handled. Such dangerous goods are sometimes needed timeously for a variety of uses; medical, engineering, military, scientific and other uses.
Because of the considerations of expeditious delivery of such dangerous goods, there is the need to deploy optimal and fast
paced means of transportation in the delivery process. To meet the demands of timeliness in the delivery of dangerous goods for
beneficial uses, there is an increasing use of aircraft for such haulage proposes. However in transporting dangerous goods by
air, premium is always placed on the safety of the crew, passengers, cargo and the aircraft. This paper examines international best practices and the legal framework for the safe transport of dangerous goods by air in Nigeria. The paper also
focused on the extant regulations, statutes and policies regulating the safe conveyance of dangerous goods by air within the prism of Annex 18 (The Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air) to the Convention on International Civil Aviation. The paper emphasised the need to comply with the rules and regulations governing the safe transport of dangerous goods by air.