Shipping Sensitive Cargo to Mexico: Which Items Are Rejected by Airlines?

In cross-border logistics and transportation, airlines, as the core carriers of air freight, must not only comply with laws and regulations formulated by the Mexican government but also establish strict acceptance standards for sensitive cargo based on their own operational safety, risk management, and liability avoidance needs. For enterprises or individuals planning to ship sensitive cargo to Mexico, clarifying airlines’ rejection lists is crucial to avoiding cargo detention at the departure port, incurring additional costs, or even triggering legal disputes. This article will start from the underlying logic of airlines rejecting sensitive cargo, detail the categories of rejected items, conduct in-depth analysis of the reasons for rejection, and provide compliant transportation suggestions combined with practical cases to help practitioners efficiently plan logistics solutions.

I. Core Logic Behind Airlines Rejecting Sensitive Cargo to Mexico

Before discussing specific rejected items, it is necessary to first clarify airlines’ cargo acceptance principles for sensitive cargo to Mexico—centered on “safety first, compliance as the foundation, and risk controllability,” with comprehensive consideration of three factors:

Firstly, compliance with laws and regulations: Airlines must strictly adhere to Mexico’s Federal Aviation Law, Customs Law, and relevant rules of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and International Air Transport Association (IATA). For cargo explicitly prohibited from entering the country by law, airlines directly reject it without exceptions;

Secondly, operational safety risks: Air transportation has extremely high safety requirements for cargo. Any cargo that may threaten flight safety (such as flammable, explosive, or corrosive items), damage aircraft equipment (such as strong magnetic items), or endanger the health of crew and passengers (such as highly toxic or infectious substances) falls within the key rejection scope of airlines;

Finally, liability and cost control: If transporting prohibited or high-risk cargo leads to flight delays, cargo detention, safety accidents, or other issues, airlines must bear huge compensation (such as compensation for passengers due to flight delays, cargo destruction costs) and may even face the risk of qualification revocation. Therefore, from the perspective of cost and liability balance, airlines proactively reject high-risk sensitive cargo.

In addition, although different airlines (such as Aeroméxico, American Airlines, Lufthansa, etc.) may slightly adjust their acceptance standards based on their own capacity and route characteristics, their core rejection lists are highly consistent, all centered around the two core principles of “safety” and “compliance.”

II. Specific Categories of Sensitive Cargo to Mexico Rejected by Airlines and Reasons

Combined with Mexico’s air transport regulatory requirements and the acceptance manuals of major airlines (such as Aeroméxico and Delta Air Lines), sensitive cargo rejected by airlines can be divided into “absolutely rejected categories” and “conditionally rejected categories.” Among them, the “absolutely rejected categories” are the key areas that logistics practitioners need to avoid.

(1) Absolutely Rejected Categories: High-Risk Items with No Acceptance Possibility

“Absolutely rejected categories” refer to cargo that airlines directly refuse to accept regardless of whether the shipper has obtained approval documents from the Mexican government. Such items usually pose extremely high safety risks or clearly violate legal regulations, mainly including the following categories:

1. Weapons, Ammunition, and Explosives

Scope Covered: Includes military firearms (assault rifles, machine guns), civilian pistols, imitation weapons (model guns identical in appearance to real guns), bullets (including blank ammunition), grenades, landmines, explosives, detonators, fuses, etc. Even weapons used for collection or sports competitions are fully rejected by airlines.

Reasons for Rejection:

• Extremely high safety risks: Accidents involving weapons and explosives during transportation (such as accidental discharge or explosion caused by collision) can directly lead to aircraft damage and casualties. There have been multiple cases of “aviation safety accidents caused by weapon smuggling” in history. For example, in 2019, a cargo flight of a Mexican airline accidentally accepted undeclared bullets, resulting in an accidental discharge during flight that pierced the cargo compartment wall;
• Clear legal liability: According to Mexico’s Federal Law on Firearms and Explosives, if an airline illegally transports weapons, it will face a maximum fine of 5 million Mexican pesos (approximately 1.75 million RMB), and the relevant responsible persons must bear criminal liability. To avoid legal risks, airlines directly classify such items as “absolutely rejected”;
• Industry rule constraints: IATA’s Dangerous Goods Regulations classify weapons, ammunition, and explosives as “Class 1 Dangerous Goods” and clearly require airlines not to accept them, except for special military transportation (which requires an exclusive approval document from the Ministry of National Defense and is limited to specific military flights). Civilian airlines have no authority to accept such cargo.

Practical Case: In April 2024, a logistics company attempted to ship a batch of “toy guns” (highly similar in appearance to real guns) to Mexico via American Airlines. During cargo security inspection, the airline found that the toy guns could be modified into functional weapons and immediately rejected the cargo. The logistics company was also placed on the “high-risk customer list,” and the airline refused to accept any of its cargo transportation orders for 6 months.

2. Drugs and Prohibited Pharmaceuticals

Scope Covered: Includes narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances under international control such as opium, heroin, morphine, cocaine, methamphetamine, and MDMA (ecstasy), as well as prescription drugs without approval from Mexico’s Ministry of Health (such as cough medicines containing codeine), counterfeit pharmaceuticals (such as antibiotics with forged production batch numbers), and health products containing prohibited ingredients (such as weight-loss products containing ephedrine).

Reasons for Rejection:

• Uncontrollable legal risks: Mexico is one of the countries with the strictest anti-drug efforts globally. If an airline is found transporting drugs, it will not only face huge fines but may also have its Mexico route operation qualification suspended. For example, in 2023, Aeroméxico failed to strictly inspect cargo, allowing a batch of cocaine disguised as “coffee beans” to enter the country via its flight. Eventually, it was fined 3 million Mexican pesos by Mexico’s Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC), and the route was suspended for 1 month;
• Security inspection costs and risks: Drugs are usually transported through “concealed packaging” (such as hidden inside electronic products or in food 夹层). Airlines need to invest a large amount of manpower and resources in inspection, and if they miss any, they must bear full responsibility. From the perspective of cost and risk balance, directly rejecting such cargo is more in line with operational needs;
• Social responsibility constraints: As public transportation carriers, airlines must assume social responsibility for anti-drug efforts. If they are involved in drug transportation, their brand image will be severely damaged, and market trust will be affected.

Practical Case: In November 2023, a cross-border e-commerce enterprise attempted to ship a batch of “unapproved sleeping pills” to Mexico via Delta Air Lines. During the inspection of cargo documents, the airline found that the pharmaceuticals had not obtained the Import Pharmaceutical License from Mexico’s Ministry of Health, so it immediately rejected the cargo and shared the enterprise’s information with Mexican Customs. Subsequently, all cargo of this enterprise was classified as a “key inspection target” by Customs.

3. Flammable and Explosive Items

Scope Covered: Includes gasoline, diesel (with a concentration ≥ 90%), alcohol (with a concentration ≥ 70%), natural gas cylinders, liquefied petroleum gas, fireworks, firecrackers, lighters (containing fuel), matches, and flammable and explosive reagents used in chemical laboratories (such as ammonium nitrate, ether, acetone).

Reasons for Rejection:

• Red line for aviation safety: Aircraft cargo compartments are enclosed spaces with significant temperature and pressure changes. Flammable and explosive items are prone to combustion or explosion due to collision or high temperature during transportation. For example, in 2022, a cargo warehouse at Mexico City International Airport stored unrefused alcohol (with a concentration of 95%), which caused a fire due to excessive temperature, destroying cargo worth over 10 million US dollars and delaying 3 flights;
• Difficulties in packaging and protection: Flammable and explosive items require special explosion-proof packaging (such as anti-static and leak-proof containers), and must be stored separately with full-process temperature monitoring. However, most shippers cannot meet these requirements, so airlines directly reject them to avoid safety accidents;
• Mandatory requirements of IATA rules: According to IATA’s Dangerous Goods Regulations, flammable and explosive items belong to “Class 2 (Gases), Class 3 (Liquids), and Class 4 (Solids) Dangerous Goods.” Civilian airlines can only accept them under extremely special circumstances (such as scientific research purposes, which require IATA-certified dangerous goods transportation qualifications). However, due to strict supervision on Mexico routes, airlines generally choose “zero acceptance.”

Practical Case: In February 2024, a chemical enterprise planned to ship a batch of “industrial alcohol” (with a concentration of 92%) to Mexico via Aeroméxico for local factory production. After confirming the alcohol concentration, the airline clearly rejected the cargo and informed the shipper that “only alcohol with a concentration ≤ 60% can apply for special transportation, but a dangerous goods transportation plan must be submitted 15 days in advance, and the approval rate is less than 10%.” Finally, the shipper chose to transport the goods by land.

4. Radioactive Substances and Highly Toxic Substances

Scope Covered: Radioactive substances include radioactive elements such as uranium, plutonium, and radium, unshielded radioactive medical equipment (such as cobalt-60 equipment for radiotherapy), and radioactive waste; highly toxic substances include cyanides (potassium cyanide, sodium cyanide), tetramine (a highly toxic rodenticide), high-concentration pesticides (such as methamidophos), and biological agents containing highly toxic components (such as un-inactivated virus samples).

Reasons for Rejection:

• Irreversible hazards: Radiation emitted by radioactive substances can damage the metal structure of aircraft and cause radiation harm to crew members; if highly toxic substances leak, they can spread to the passenger cabin (in the case of combined passenger and cargo flights) and endanger passengers’ lives. Mexico’s DGAC clearly stipulates that “no civilian flight shall transport radioactive or highly toxic substances,” and airlines have no exception authority;
• Insufficient emergency response capabilities: If such substances leak during flight, crew members lack professional protective and handling equipment and cannot control the spread of hazards, leaving emergency landing as the only option. However, most airports in Mexico do not have “emergency response stations for radioactive substance leakage,” making subsequent disposal extremely difficult;
• Extremely high liability compensation risks: Once a safety accident occurs due to the transportation of such substances, airlines must bear medical compensation for crew members and passengers, as well as aircraft maintenance costs. The compensation amount usually reaches tens of millions of US dollars, far exceeding transportation revenue.

Practical Case: In July 2023, a scientific research institution attempted to ship a batch of “low-radioactivity experimental samples” to Mexico via Lufthansa for academic research. Even though it provided a safety certificate from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the airline still rejected the cargo on the grounds that “Mexican airports do not have the qualification to receive radioactive substances.” Finally, the samples were transported via a dedicated dangerous goods transportation flight (operated by a non-civilian airline).

(2) Conditionally Rejected Categories: Items That May Be Accepted Only Under Strict Conditions

“Conditionally rejected categories” refer to sensitive cargo that is not absolutely untransportable but can only be accepted by airlines if the shipper provides complete approval documents, meets special packaging/operation requirements, and passes the airline’s risk assessment. If the shipper fails to meet the conditions, airlines will still reject the cargo, mainly including the following categories:

1. Live Animals (Except Pets)

Scope Covered: Includes wild animals (such as snakes, lizards, parrots), poultry and livestock (chickens, pigs, cattle), insects (such as bees, ants), and experimental animals for scientific research (such as mice, monkeys); although pets (cats, dogs) are not fully rejected, they must meet strict conditions.

Reasons for Rejection (When Conditions Are Not Met):

• Animal welfare and transportation risks: Live animals require appropriate temperature (usually 18-25°C), humidity (40%-60%) during transportation, and regular feeding and water supply. If the shipper fails to provide transport crates that comply with IATA’s Live Animals Regulations (e.g., meeting standards for the number of ventilation holes and material strength), airlines will reject the cargo on the grounds that “animals may die or cause cargo compartment contamination”;
• Lack of quarantine documents: According to regulations of Mexico’s Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER), all live animals must be accompanied by an official quarantine certificate from the exporting country, a receiving permit document from within Mexico, and must be reported to SADER 30 days in advance. If documents are incomplete, airlines will directly reject the cargo to avoid cargo detention at Mexican airports;
• Flight capacity limitations: The cargo compartments of most airlines are only equipped with basic temperature control equipment, which cannot meet the transportation needs of special animals (e.g., cold-blooded animals requiring constant temperature, birds requiring anti-stress measures). If a flight does not have dedicated live animal transport space, airlines will reject the cargo.

Practical Case: In January 2024, a pet shipping company planned to transport 5 “Mexican parrots” (a locally protected species) to Mexico via American Airlines. Due to the lack of the Wildlife Transportation Permit issued by SADER, the airline directly rejected the cargo; after the company supplemented the documents, the airline further required a switch to a flight with live animal transportation qualifications (only one flight per week) on the grounds that “the flight’s cargo compartment has no anti-stress devices,” resulting in a 10-day delay in transportation.

2. Animal and Plant Products (Unquarantined or High-Risk Categories)

Scope Covered: Includes unquarantined meat (such as beef, pork), dairy products, fruits (such as apples, oranges), vegetables (such as tomatoes, lettuce), plant seeds, seedlings, and processed products that may carry pests or diseases (such as unheated wooden packaging).

Reasons for Rejection (When Conditions Are Not Met):

• Uncontrollable quarantine risks: Mexico is a major agricultural country with extremely strict prevention and control measures for animal and plant diseases. Unquarantined animal and plant products may carry diseases such as African swine fever and Mediterranean fruit flies, which could cause devastating damage to local agriculture if introduced. If airlines transport such cargo, they must bear the risks of “cargo destruction + fines,” so they will strictly inspect quarantine documents and reject cargo with incomplete documents;
• Difficulties in preservation and storage: Fresh fruits and vegetables require full-process cold chain transportation (temperature 0-5°C) and have a short shelf life. If the shipper cannot provide an effective cold chain plan (such as insulated containers, temperature recorders), airlines will reject the cargo on the grounds that “cargo is prone to spoilage and causes cargo compartment contamination”;
• Customs inspection risks: Mexican Customs has a 90% inspection rate for animal and plant products. If cargo is detained due to quarantine issues, it will cause flight delays, and airlines must compensate other shippers for losses. Therefore, they are more inclined to reject animal and plant products with incomplete documents.

Practical Case: In May 2023, a food export enterprise planned to ship a batch of “fresh cherries” to Mexico via Aeroméxico. Due to the lack of an official Phytosanitary Certificate from the exporting country, the airline rejected the cargo on the spot; even after the enterprise urgently reissued the certificate, the airline still required an additional “quarantine risk deposit” (50% of the cargo value), otherwise refusing to accept the cargo. Finally, the enterprise abandoned air transportation due to excessive costs.

3. Electronic Products Containing Lithium Batteries

Scope Covered: Includes electronic products with built-in lithium batteries (such as laptops, mobile phones, power banks, power tools) and standalone lithium batteries (such as drone batteries, car emergency start-up power supplies).

Reasons for Rejection (When Conditions Are Not Met):

• High risk of fire: Lithium batteries are prone to “thermal runaway” under extrusion or high-temperature environments, causing fires or even explosions, and are one of the main causes of fire accidents in air freight. In 2022, there were 12 lithium battery fire accidents in global air freight, 3 of which involved Mexico routes. Therefore, airlines have set strict conditions for lithium battery transportation;
• Non-compliant packaging and labeling: According to IATA’s Dangerous Goods Regulations, electronic products containing lithium batteries require anti-static packaging, standalone lithium batteries must be stored separately and insulated, and “lithium battery dangerous goods labels” (Class 9) must be affixed to the outer packaging. If the shipper fails to meet these requirements, airlines will reject the cargo;
• Quantity and specification limitations: Most airlines impose restrictions on the single-shipment weight of lithium battery cargo on Mexico routes (usually no more than 30kg) and prohibit the transportation of large-capacity lithium batteries exceeding 100Wh (such as batteries for some electric bicycles). If the limits are exceeded, the cargo will be rejected.

Practical Case: In March 2024, an electronic product distributor planned to ship 20 “unpackaged mobile phones” (with built-in lithium batteries) to Mexico via Delta Air Lines. Due to the failure to package the mobile phones separately (multiple units stacked together) and the lack of lithium battery labels, the airline rejected the cargo; after the distributor repackaged the goods and supplemented the labels, the airline further required the provision of a “lithium battery UN38.3 test report” (proving battery safety performance), otherwise still refusing to accept the cargo, resulting in a 5-day delay in shipment.

4. High-Value and Precious Metal Cargo

Scope Covered: Includes jewelry, luxury goods (such as high-end watches, luggage), precious metals (