Reading and Comprehension. As the business of sending freight by air has increased, it has brought with it complications for the airlines

As the business of sending freight by air has increased, it has brought with it complications for the airlines. These complications are mainly centred round the problems of receiving a consignment, storing it for a few hours and then retrieving it and placing it on the aircraft at the right time. The same problem in reverse applies to incoming cargo.

Some of the bigger airlines have had to abandon their manual handling and control methods and replace them by mechanical systems, controlled by computers, that can carry out these functions under the control of a smaller labour force. Such mechanical handling and control systems for cargo have net existed before, and the airlines have had to pioneer their specifications, design and installation. Airlines have selected different manufacturers to meet their needs and consequently most of them have suffered the "teething trouble" that are associated with new automated systems.

Indeed, in some cases these problems have been so great that several airlines have taken out their mechanical handling systems, and gone back to a machine-assisted system of manual handling and control of cargo.

The use of pallets and containers for air cargo has also been pioneered in recent years. These pieces of equipment, however, have proved their worth and are now a permanent part of the air cargo scene.

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