Aeroflot's weight limit per piece without approval is set separately for each airport: from 30 kg in Shanghai (PVG) and 50 kg in Saransk (SKX) to 250 kg in Irkutsk (IKT) and Almaty (ALA). Below is the data for each city: weight per piece without approval, with approval, the hard limit, and the A320 loading type.
CargoBooking is an air freight forwarder in Moscow working since 2019 and an Aeroflot cargo agent since 2019. More in About CargoBooking. Write to us in English or Russian.
How many kg per piece does an airport accept without approval, and where is there a hard limit?
For Russia, Aeroflot treats a piece of 80 kg or more as heavy. But the weight a destination airport accepts without a separate request differs by city on flights from Sheremetyevo (SVO), Moscow. 37 of the 55 Russian airports in the table use the same 80 kg. The other 18 differ: lower, like 50 kg in Saransk (SKX), or higher, up to 250 kg in Irkutsk (IKT). Abroad the range is wider: from 30 kg in Shanghai (PVG) to 250 kg in Almaty (ALA). In Russia, one destination is under "embargo": Penza (PEZ), where Aeroflot does not take heavy cargo. Abroad, four destinations are under embargo: Hong Kong (HKG), Dalaman (DLM), Mersin (COV) and Milas-Bodrum (BJV).
A hard limit is the weight above which the airport will not accept a piece under any approval. In our network, a hard limit is set at 14 Russian and 4 foreign airports. The reason is not always given. In Barnaul (BAX), the limit is 200 kg because unloading is manual. In Istanbul (IST), it is 105 kg, with the note that the piece may be no more than 70 cm high. For the other airports with a hard limit, the table shows only the number.
A size limit per piece appears in the table for only two airports: Chelyabinsk (CEK) (70 cm) and Istanbul (IST) (70 cm). The other airports in the network have no such mark. This does not mean there are no size limits: Aeroflot's special cargo table simply does not list them. Piece dimensions are checked against a different table, with the doors and holds of the specific aircraft.
Bulk or pallet: how is an A320 from Sheremetyevo loaded?
For the A320 family (in Aeroflot's description: 320, 32A, 32N, 321, 32B, 32Q), the loading type on a flight from Sheremetyevo depends on the destination airport. This is stated in Aeroflot's aircraft loading type document of April 27, 2026. BULK means loose loading: pieces go into the hold one by one. ULD (unit load device) means on a pallet or in a container: the cargo is built up into a unit in advance. A pallet with lifting handles can be handed over for bulk loading as one piece, if it fits the weight and size limits.
In the Russian table, 38 of 55 airports have loading type BULK, 11 have ULD, and 6 have no mark. Abroad, of 40 airports, 15 have BULK, 12 have ULD, and 13 have no mark. The loading type on your flight depends on the specific aircraft and may differ from the table. We confirm it when you book.
Where in Russia can you send a heavy piece without extra approvals?
Data from Aeroflot's summary special cargo table of August 7, 2026 (valid for September 2026). Where Aeroflot shows "-" or "no data", we write "no mark".
| City | Status | Without approval, up to kg | With approval, kg | Hard limit, kg | Size limit, cm | A320 from Sheremetyevo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abakan (ABA) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Anadyr (DYR) | accepts and stores | 200 | no mark | no mark | no mark | no mark |
| Apatity (KVK) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Arkhangelsk (ARH) | accepts and stores | 200 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Astrakhan (ASF) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Barnaul (BAX) | accepts and stores | 200 | no mark | 200 (manual unloading) | no mark | BULK |
| Blagoveshchensk (BQS) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | 1500 (wide-body aircraft) | no mark | no mark |
| Cheboksary (CSY) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Chelyabinsk (CEK) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | 70 | BULK |
| Elista (ESL) | accepts and stores | 100 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Gorno-Altaysk (RGK) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Grozny (GRV) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Irkutsk (IKT) | accepts and stores | 250 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Izhevsk (IJK) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Kaliningrad (KGD) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | ULD |
| Kazan (KZN) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | ULD |
| Kemerovo (KEJ) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Khabarovsk (KHV) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | 200 | no mark | no mark |
| Khanty-Mansiysk (HMA) | accepts and stores | 80 | 80-130 | 130 | no mark | BULK |
| Krasnodar (KRR) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | ULD |
| Krasnoyarsk (KJA) | accepts and stores | 200 | no mark | no mark | no mark | ULD |
| Magadan (GDX) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | no mark |
| Magnitogorsk (MQF) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Makhachkala (MCX) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Mineralnye Vody (MRV) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | 200 | no mark | ULD |
| Murmansk (MMK) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Nizhnekamsk (NBC) | accepts and stores | 100 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Nizhnevartovsk (NJC) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Nizhny Novgorod (GOJ) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | ULD |
| Novokuznetsk (NOZ) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Novosibirsk (OVB) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | ULD |
| Omsk (OMS) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | 250 | no mark | BULK |
| Orenburg (REN) | accepts and stores | 100 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Orsk (OSW) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Penza (PEZ) | embargo | no mark | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Perm (PEE) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (PKC) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | 250 | no mark | no mark |
| Saint Petersburg (LED) | accepts and stores | 200 | no mark | 250 | no mark | ULD |
| Samara (KUF) | accepts and stores | 200 | no mark | no mark | no mark | ULD |
| Saransk (SKX) | accepts and stores | 50 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Saratov (GSV) | accepts and stores | 200 | no mark | 200 | no mark | BULK |
| Sochi (AER) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | ULD |
| Stavropol (STW) | accepts and stores | 100 | no mark | 100 | no mark | BULK |
| Surgut (SGC) | accepts and stores | 200 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Syktyvkar (SCW) | accepts and stores | 80 | 80-120 | 120 | no mark | BULK |
| Tomsk (TOF) | accepts and stores | 80 | 80-150 | 150 | no mark | BULK |
| Tyumen (TJM) | accepts and stores | 200 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Ufa (UFA) | accepts and stores | 120 | 120-250 | 250 | no mark | BULK |
| Ulan-Ude (UUD) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | 200 | no mark | BULK |
| Ulyanovsk (ULV) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Vladivostok (VVO) | accepts and stores | 150 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Volgograd (VOG) | accepts and stores | 80 | 80-200 | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Yakutsk (YKS) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Yekaterinburg (SVX) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | ULD |
| Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (UUS) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | no mark |
Where abroad, and on what terms?
Data for the foreign airports in our network, from the same Aeroflot summary special cargo table, version of August 3, 2026 (valid for September 2026).
| City | Status | Without approval, up to kg | With approval, kg | Hard limit, kg | Size limit, cm | A320 from Sheremetyevo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abu Dhabi (AUH) | accepts and stores | 150 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Aktau (SCO) | accepts and stores | 200 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Almaty (ALA) | accepts and stores | 250 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Antalya (AYT) | accepts and stores | 150 | no mark | no mark | no mark | ULD |
| Astana (NQZ) | accepts and stores | 150 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Baku (GYD) | accepts and stores | 100 | no mark | no mark | no mark | ULD |
| Bangkok (BKK) | accepts and stores | 150 | no mark | no mark | no mark | no mark |
| Beijing (PKX) | accepts and stores | 50 | no mark | no mark | no mark | no mark |
| Bishkek (BSZ) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | ULD |
| Bukhara (BHK) | accepts and stores | 150 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Cairo (CAI) | accepts and stores | 120 | no mark | no mark | no mark | ULD |
| Cam Ranh (CXR) | accepts and stores | 40 | no mark | no mark | no mark | no mark |
| Colombo (CMB) | accepts and stores | 150 | no mark | no mark | no mark | no mark |
| Dalaman (DLM) | embargo | no mark | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Denpasar (DPS) | accepts and stores | 100 | no mark | no mark | no mark | no mark |
| Dubai (DWC) | accepts and stores | 150 | no mark | 150 | no mark | BULK |
| Dubai (DXB) | accepts and stores | 150 | no mark | 150 | no mark | ULD |
| Ganja (GNJ) | accepts and stores | 200 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Goa (GOX) | accepts and stores | 150 | no mark | no mark | no mark | no mark |
| Guangzhou (CAN) | accepts and stores | 200 | no mark | no mark | no mark | no mark |
| Hainan (SYX) | accepts and stores | 150 | no mark | no mark | no mark | no mark |
| Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) | accepts and stores | 50 | no mark | no mark | no mark | no mark |
| Hong Kong (HKG) | embargo | no mark | no mark | no mark | no mark | no mark |
| Istanbul (IST) | accepts and stores | no mark | no mark | 105 (axis limit: height no more than 70 cm) | 70 | ULD |
| Karaganda (KGF) | accepts and stores | 150 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Kostanay (KSN) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Male (MLE) | accepts and stores | 50 | no mark | no mark | no mark | no mark |
| Mersin (COV) | embargo | no mark | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Milas-Bodrum (BJV) | embargo | no mark | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Minsk (MSQ) | accepts and stores | 200 | no mark | no mark | no mark | ULD |
| New Delhi (DEL) | accepts and stores | 150 | no mark | no mark | no mark | ULD (32Q BULK) |
| Osh (OSS) | accepts and stores | 45 | no mark | no mark | no mark | ULD |
| Phuket (HKT) | accepts and stores | 50 | no mark | no mark | no mark | ULD |
| Samarkand (SKD) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Seychelles (SEZ) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | no mark | no mark | no mark |
| Shanghai (PVG) | accepts and stores | 30 | no mark | no mark | no mark | no mark |
| Shymkent (CIT) | accepts and stores | 100 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
| Tashkent (TAS) | accepts and stores | 80 | no mark | 80 | no mark | ULD |
| Tehran (IKA) | accepts and stores | 160 | no mark | no mark | no mark | ULD |
| Yerevan (EVN) | accepts and stores | 200 | no mark | no mark | no mark | BULK |
Dubai appears in the table twice, as DXB and DWC. Both have a hard limit of 150 kg.
To EAEU countries (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan) we ship like within Russia. Outside the EAEU we only carry commercial shipments of companies that have their own customs broker: we handle the flight, not the customs clearance.
What to check before shipping a heavy piece
- Weigh and measure each piece separately. What counts is the heaviest piece, not the total of the shipment.
- Find your airport in the table and compare the weight of the piece with the limit without approval and the hard limit.
- If the piece is above the limit without approval but below the hard limit, allow time for approval with the airport.
- If palletized cargo may go as bulk, attach lifting handles in advance.
Find your city in the table and send your manager the weight and dimensions of each piece when you book. As Aeroflot's agent, we will check whether approval is needed and tell you the loading type on the chosen flight. To get a price, use the online calculator.
