How much cargo fits in a passenger plane?

It depends on the aircraft and the bags on board. Boeing lists 213.8 m³ of lower-deck volume for a 777-300ER and 160.1 m³ for a 777-200LR, shared between baggage and freight.

What share of air cargo flies in passenger aircraft?

About half before 2020, IATA says. In 2025 freighters carried nearly 58% of international air cargo demand, which leaves a little over 40% for passenger aircraft.

A passenger aircraft flying cargo only, used when passenger flights stopped in 2020. IATA says preighters carried up to 25% of the world's air cargo volume in the second quarter of that year.

Term

Belly cargo

Belly cargo is freight carried in the lower deck of a passenger aircraft, below the cabin, rather than on a dedicated freighter. Before 2020 about half of global air cargo travelled this way, IATA says; in 2025 freighters still carried nearly 58% of international demand. Belly space comes with passenger flights, so it follows passenger schedules.

Also called bellyhold cargo, lower deck cargo, belly capacity, passenger aircraft cargoUpdated 13 October 2026

How much a belly holds

Aircraft	Cargo volume	Where
777-200LR	160.1 m³ (5,656 ft³)	Lower deck
777-300ER	213.8 m³ (7,552 ft³)	Lower deck
777 Freighter	633.4 m³ (22,371 ft³)	Main deck and both lower lobes

Boeing 777 airport planning document D6-58329-2, Rev G, December 2024

The freighter has roughly three times the space of the largest passenger version, and a passenger aircraft shares its lower deck with the passengers' bags. What a belly offers on a given flight is the space the baggage leaves.

Worked example: a 777-200LR lower deck

18 LD3s forward + 14 LD3s aft = 32 × 158 ft³ = 5,056 ft³ · + 600 ft³ bulk hold = 5,656 ft³ (160.1 m³)

Boeing's own breakdown of the lower deck. Bags travel in the same containers and bulk hold, so freight gets what is left.

When passenger flights stopped

In April 2020 IATA reported belly capacity down by roughly 75% on a year earlier, and with it cargo load factors, rates and yields rising significantly. By May 2020 belly cargo was only 4% of total cargo volumes. Airlines answered with more freighter flying and with 'preighters' — passenger aircraft flying cargo only — which carried up to 25% of the world's air cargo volume in the second quarter of 2020.

By 2025 belly space was growing again: IATA's December 2025 analysis put the full-year belly load factor at 39.8%, up 1 percentage point, against 63.7% for dedicated freighters.

The mistake people make

Counting on belly space as if it were fixed. It exists only because passengers are flying the route; when passenger flights are cut, the capacity goes with them, as 2020 showed — and a shipment too tall for a lower-deck container or pallet needs a freighter whatever the schedule.

FAQ

Belly cargo: common questions

How much cargo fits in a passenger plane?: It depends on the aircraft and the bags on board. Boeing lists 213.8 m³ of lower-deck volume for a 777-300ER and 160.1 m³ for a 777-200LR, shared between baggage and freight.
What share of air cargo flies in passenger aircraft?: About half before 2020, IATA says. In 2025 freighters carried nearly 58% of international air cargo demand, which leaves a little over 40% for passenger aircraft.
What is a preighter?: A passenger aircraft flying cargo only, used when passenger flights stopped in 2020. IATA says preighters carried up to 25% of the world's air cargo volume in the second quarter of that year.