How Cold Do Airplane Cargo Holds Get [Explained]

Q: Q.1 Is It Cold For Dogs In Cargo?

Ans: Cargo holds experience extreme temperature changes during summer and winter. In summer which is the period of May to September, most airlines will not allow pet transportation. This is the time period when the temperature of the cargo hold goes beyond 84°F and in winter it goes down to 45°F, this is too cold to survive for a dog inside the cargo hold if it is not air-conditioned properly.

Q: Q.2 Can You Survive In A Plane Cargo Hold?

Ans: First, you are not allowed to travel in a plane cargo hold, but somehow if you enter this place, the chances that you would survive in this area are very minimum because it depends on in which cargo hold you are. is it forward hold, alt hols, or rear hold? Is the cargo hols air conditioner and heater or not? If you are in a luggage bag then the chances are high that you would crush the other luggage bags.

Whether you are traveling for your work or for an adventurous backpacking trip. If you travel by airplane, then this common doubt will definitely get into your mind is that

How cold do airplane cargo holds get?

This question is also feasible if your luggage has some temperature-sensitive items. In this article, we will try to figure out the temperature of various famous airplane cargo.

So without further ado

Let’s get into the topic…

How Cold Do Airline Corgo Holds Get: [Figure Out]

Table of Contents

In this section I’m going to give the temperature of some famous Airline cargo holds:

1. FedEx cargo plane temperature

FedEx cargo plane temperature depends on these factors:

What type of aircraft it is?
Location of the cargo compartment.
Location of the luggage or other stuff within the cargo compartment.
Flight length.
Cruising altitude.

The temperature of FedEx’s main cargo compartment varies between 5°c to 30°c. In Fahrenheit, the temperature is between 40°f to 85°f.

	Minimum	Maximum
FedEx Cargo Plane Temperature	30°c (85°f)	5°c (40°f)

This is a general reference based on the information given on the FedEx site.

2. Boeing cargo hold temperature

The cargo area of the Boeing 737 is less insulated than the cabin area. The temperature in the cargo area is a little bit cooler than in the cabin area because the conditioned air is circulated from the cabin area to the cargo area and it creates a temperature difference between them.

Normally Boeing 737 tries to maintain the temperature of its baggage hold between 15°c and 30°c. This temperature is set to 18°c in the bulk area of Boeing 767 where pets and other animals are carried. The baggage hold temperature in Boeing 767 is 7°c.

For some temperature-sensitive goods, Boeing 767 has a special temperature control bin.

The information is based on the Boeing 787 captain of Air Canada Airlines, Doug Morris.

Boeing 777 cargo hold temperature

According to the data present on the site china airline, the inside temperature of Boeing 777 cargo is mentioned in the below table:

Boeing Cargo Model No.	FWD Cargo Hold	High 18 to 24°c	Air conditioning system
B777	AFT/Bulk Cargo Hold	Low 4 to 10°c	Heat System H & L heat switch (2) at the cockpit

can you survive in the cargo hold of a plane?

Although this is totally illegal and risky approach to travel in the cargo hold. I know people who are searching for this query on the internet, would not want to do this ever. They just google this query for just knowledge purposes.

A plane has various cargo sections in its lower deck which are known as a hold. They are located in the different positions of an airplane. There are three holds in an airplane:

1. Forward Hold

Forward hold is positioned at the front section of an airplane. In most cases, it is located before the wings.

2. AFT Hold:

An aft hold is located behind the wings.

3. Bulk Hold:

A bulk hold is located in the rear section of an airline.

The number of holds and their locations may vary for different airplanes. All holds inside a transport-rated cargo are pressurized but we can’t say for sure if they are heated or not.

It depends on whether that holds transport animals or not.

If you are in a suitcase and if the crew members throw this in the forward hold then you would survive, if you don’t get crushed by other luggage and as you are in a suitcase, there is a high chance that you suffocate.

If you are in a cage like a dog, cat, or other animal transport then you would survive because the forward hold is pressurized and heated.

what is the highest temperature likely to be found in an aircraft cargo hold?

Normally people want to take chocolates, and other temperature-sensitive items into their luggage and want to know if it is safe to carry them along with them on an airplane or not.

What is the highest temperature inside the aircraft cargo hold?

Normally aircraft cargo maintains the inside pressure to 75 kPa. It is the normal air pressure at the height of 2438m.

The Max, Avg, and Min temperature inside the aircraft cargo at different height is mentioned in the below table:

Height	Min. Temperature	Avg. Temperature	Max. Temperature
2438m	20°c		23°c
3658m	-15°c	-4 to 18°c	30°c
6017 m (Highest Altitude)	-4°c		24°c

According to the data mentioned on this site the highest temperature is measured at the height of 3658m, and a cargo aircraft maintains its hold temperature max 30°c when it flies over some highest mountain passes, as you find in colorado.

What is the safe temperature inside the cargo hold for pets?

According to American Airlines Cargo, the safe temperature for pet transportation inside the cargo hold must be between 45°F and 85°F. On the celsius scale, this temperature is between 7.2 °c and 29.4°c.

The temperature below 20°f and above 85°f does not fare for animal transportation.

Conclusion

Whether you are a solo traveler, want to travel with your favorite pet, or want to carry chocolates and other temperature-sensitive items inside your luggage bag then you must have the right knowledge about the temperature and pressure inside your airplane.

This can be varied for different airlines and airplanes. I’ve tried to mention the inside temperature and pressure of some famous airplanes.

I hope this article will help you to know about the temperature detail of the airline from which you are going to travel.

FAQ

Is it cold for dogs in cargo?

Q.1 Is It Cold For Dogs In Cargo?

Ans: Cargo holds experience extreme temperature changes during summer and winter. In summer which is the period of May to September, most airlines will not allow pet transportation.
This is the time period when the temperature of the cargo hold goes beyond 84°F and in winter it goes down to 45°F, this is too cold to survive for a dog inside the cargo hold if it is not air-conditioned properly.

Q.2 Can You Survive In A Plane Cargo Hold?

Ans: First, you are not allowed to travel in a plane cargo hold, but somehow if you enter this place, the chances that you would survive in this area are very minimum because it depends on in which cargo hold you are. is it forward hold, alt hols, or rear hold?
Is the cargo hols air conditioner and heater or not? If you are in a luggage bag then the chances are high that you would crush the other luggage bags.