Air freight to Canada
Urgent or valuable goods by plane, with customs clearance in the same request.
- One request for transport and customs
- Answer usually within 1 business day
- Free, no commitment
Customs rules change — confirm with the official sources on this page or with a licensed customs broker before you ship.
In short. Air freight into Canada suits urgent, light or high-value goods. The carrier's data must reach the CBSA at least four hours before the flight lands (or by departure on shorter flights), and the goods are released at the airport warehouse once your broker's release request is accepted. Batteries and other dangerous goods must be declared up front.
How an air shipment reaches you
Describe the shipment
Tell us the pickup city, what you are shipping, the number of pieces with their dimensions and weight, and when it must arrive. Mention batteries or other dangerous goods up front.
Booking and flight
The forwarder books space with an airline and issues the air waybill. The carrier's data must reach the CBSA at least four hours before the flight lands, or by departure for a flight shorter than four hours.
Customs release
Your customs broker sends the release request before or on arrival, so the goods can be released at the airport warehouse. With RPP security, they are released before duties and taxes are paid.
Pickup and delivery
Once released, the freight is collected at the airline's or the forwarder's warehouse and trucked to your address.
Accounting and payment
Your broker files the final accounting in CARM, and you pay the duties and taxes by the due date on your statement.
What the price depends on
Air freight is quoted per shipment and charged on the chargeable weight: the greater of the actual weight and the volumetric weight. Light, bulky goods cost more than their weight suggests. Fuel and security surcharges and airport handling often come on top, and duties and taxes are separate.
- Origin airport and destination
- Chargeable weight: actual or volumetric
- Speed: direct flight or consolidated service
- Fuel and security surcharges
- Airport handling and terminal fees
- Dangerous goods or special handling
- Pickup and delivery by truck
- Customs brokerage, duties and taxes, billed separately
Air freight questions
Air cargo or courier: what's the difference?
A courier (UPS, FedEx, DHL, Purolator) carries parcels door to door on its own network and usually clears them through its own brokerage, then bills you for it. Air cargo moves through a freight forwarder on an airline, suits pallets and heavier shipments, and lets you choose your own customs broker. If a courier parcel is held, see what to do when a shipment is stuck.
What is chargeable weight in air freight?
Airlines bill the greater of two numbers: the actual gross weight, and the volumetric weight, which converts the shipment's dimensions into a weight using a factor set by the airline or forwarder. A carton of pillows is billed on its volume, a carton of bolts on its weight. Ask which factor your quote uses, and cut empty space in the packaging where you can.
When does air freight make sense?
When time costs more than freight: a production line waiting for a part, a launch date, samples, perishable or seasonal goods, or high-value items where freight is a small share of the price. For heavy, low-value goods, ocean or truck usually costs much less. Compare the full landed cost, not the freight alone.
What advance data does the CBSA need for air shipments?
Air carriers must send ACI cargo and conveyance data to the CBSA at least four hours before arrival, or by departure time when the flight is shorter than four hours. Freight forwarders send house bills for consolidated shipments. Your broker's release request is separate: it is what lets the goods leave the airport.
Do I need a customs broker for air freight?
Not by law, but the release request is sent electronically, so most businesses use a licensed broker, and a courier usually uses its own. On an air cargo shipment you can bring your own broker. Either way, you stay responsible for the declaration and the duties. Here is what doing it yourself involves.
Can batteries and other dangerous goods go by air?
Some can, under strict packing, labelling and declaration rules; some only on cargo aircraft; some not at all. Lithium batteries, aerosols, perfumes and many chemicals fall in this group. Mention them in the form so the forwarder checks before booking.
- Sources:
- Memorandum D3-2-1: Air Pre-Arrival and Reporting Requirements (CBSA)
- Memorandum D3-3-1: Freight Forwarder Pre-Arrival and Reporting Requirements (CBSA)
- Memorandum D17-1-4: Release of Commercial Goods (CBSA)
- Memorandum D17-1-8: Release Prior to Payment Privilege (CBSA)
- Memorandum D1-4-1: CBSA Invoice Requirements (CBSA)
Need it there fast?
One request covers the flight and the customs clearance. We usually reply within 1 business day.
Keep reading
The next steps most people take from here.
Importing
The whole path to importing commercial goods into Canada, in order.
Read →Do I need a customs broker?
No law requires one. What a licensed broker does, and what importing on your own involves.
Read →Shipment stuck?
Two taps to understand what the carrier’s message means and what to do in the next hour.
Read →Duty recovery review
A free review of 12 months of entries to find duty you can still get back.
Read →