ISO 16412:2005 specifies utilization guidelines to be applied when preparing air cargo pallets for carriage on board civil transport aircraft. It identifies the various concerns to be taken into consideration to ensure flight safety, and provides recognized industry standard methods to achieve it.

16412:2005 is applicable to any certified air cargo pallet built up from either a single or a number of pieces of commercial cargo, intended to be loaded on lower, main or upper deck of a civil transport aircraft, whether a freighter or a passenger-carrying aircraft. Its field of application includes all pallets prepared within ground premises, whether at a shipper's facilities or an airport cargo warehouse, including those intended to be loaded into the aircraft in a floating position. The provisions of ISO 16412:2005 may not entirely apply in the event of pre-embarked pallets. In such a case, it is up to the operator to identify and implement the applicable criteria.

16412:2005 is not intended to apply to air cargo pallets prepared for military transport aircraft, and does not take into account any specific criteria for military aircraft. Nothing, however, precludes it being used for guidelines in this case, it being the military operator's responsibility to identify and implement any additional applicable criteria.