Abbreviation for Air Transport Association. The ATA defines standards for how to transport cargo on aircraft, and among those are requirements for ‘approved’ equipment cases. You will see the ATA nomenclature associated with some of the more expensive flight or road case designs. This generally means that the case conforms to or meets the ATA’s minimum requirements for an approved case of that size and type. Non ATA cases can still be used for travel on airlines, but there are limits to the airline’s liability for them and the contents.