Is the cargo space of an airplane warm or cold?

Question

I mean the place where all the check-in baggage goes....

Answer 1

Most of it is cold as it cost a lot to heat it to the same temperature as the cabin. However, the special section where dogs and cats travel in cages is kept pressurized, the same as the cabin.

Answer 2

The cargo space is heated by the same air as the rest of the cabin. The air is fed into the cabin through the overhead and side wall vents and goes to the cargo compartment through the floor vents. The air will be a little cooler in the cargo compartment since it is used for keeping people warm first. But most cargo compartments have electric blanket heaters in the walls (727-737) or an electric heater (757) and are well insulated. Also the forward cargo compartment has the very warm avionics bay in front and the air distribution manifold at the rear which would make it warmer. But some cargo compartments are unheated or have their heaters removed and are marked 'no live animals', typically the rear one.

Answer 3

I can't believe all the BS answers in this one. OK all modern airliners have pressurized cargo holds. It is not that there is a "special" pressurization compartment, it is all within the same pressure vessel as the rest of the plane. Now, it is definitely colder and they add heat to sections where pets are stowed. It is only colder though because the aircraft skin is thin and the outside temp is very cold at altitude. Furthermore it is a waste of weight, therefore money to install tubing to "air condition" a cargo hold. That is there is no heat being added where not necessary. As far as being warm or cold, it just depends. If it is a hot day on the ramp, then the cargo hold is very hot until the airplane starts to cool off.

True story about people falling from wheel wells though. That section is not pressurized and you die fairly quickly from hypoxia and/or hypothermia.

Answer 4

Depends on the aircraft type, the application it is used for and of course how high the aircraft is flying.
A non pressurised aircraft such as an air taxi will not fly above 10,000 feet, so if it is 25*C on the ground, the cargo compartment will be around 5*C.

An airliner depending on its specification usually has a switch in the cockpit to switch on the cargo hold heat, usually if their are animals in transit. In any case the temp will not be allowed to drop below freezing.
Imagine the mess if someones bottled water froze in a suitcase, split the bottle and thawed again.
Besides, if the cargo compartment was allowed to drop to - 50 or so, the floor in the passenger cabin would freeze, as it is very lightweight and because of this is not usually insulated.

Answer 5

It depends on the aircraft. Most airliners are completely pressurized. Its actually cheaper and easier to do it this way than to leave them unpressurized. This is because a circular shape hold pressurization (like a balloon) much more easily than any other shape. It is easier then to make the pressure vessel the shape of the inside of the entire aircraft. The pressurized part of the aircraft goes from the cockpit all the way to the back of the plane and from the top to the bottom.

However not *all* aircraft have pressurized cargo compartments. The jet I fly is a modern, state of the art RJ (Do-328-300) and it does not have a pressurized cargo compartment. It doesnt really mean all that much, except your luggage might be cool to the touch when you get it. Also we do not accepts pets on our flights as they would turn into dog-shaped icicles at about 20,000 feet.

Answer 6

Stowaways on airplanes that freeze to death are in the wheel wells. It is an enclosed area for the landing gear to be stored. Most who do this are crushed by the gear due to tight quarters.

The cargo compartments are not heated to normal cabin temperature but kept above freezing. You wouldn't want to take a long trip in the cargo hold but you would not freeze to death.

Answer 7

They have more than one "cargo are"... I will assume that you mean the main area for the baggage. It is quite cold since the air at the altitude the plane is flying in is extremely cold and it transfers the cold through the aluminum sides of the plane. The area for dogs, dead body transport, and perishables, is kept warm, however.

Answer 8

On most aircraft today the forward cargo is warm because the avionics equipment bay is right in front of it. Cold would mean moisture build up and the units themselves create loads of heat.

Answer 9

When you're exposed to vacuum, the air in your lungs is forced out through your mouth. After that, you should be able to make breathing motions normally, but there will of course be no air to breathe. You will not experience any exploding eyeballs or embolisms like you see in the movies, although you may experience the Bends (this is when your blood boils). You'll also feel the spit on your toungue and sweat on your body boil away. It's described as a fizzy feeling, like drinking soda. Otherwise, you don't feel very much. Until you die of oxygen deprivation, that is.

Answer 10

depends on the aircraft. a 737 has a heated front cargo pit and the rear gets very cold. If your thinking about shipping a pet they make sure it goes in the heated one

Answer 11

Generally tis freezin in there but Emirates airlines has introduced temperature controlled zones so that they can transport animals and delicate cargo like a shipment of flowers.
But in ur case the checked baggage is stored in a different area which is nt temp controlled.