Airforwarders indignant about cargo security criticism

Hopping mad. That is the only way to describe the reaction of the Airforwarders Association to recent widespread criticism of air cargo security practices. Aside from a pilot program at San Francisco International Airport currently screening approximately 95 percent of cargo shipped on commercial airlines, critics have repeatedly charged that nationwide only 10-15 percent receives a thorough going-over with X-ray machines. The Airforwarders Association’s recent response to these charges hints that the industry is not willing to go down on this issue without a fight. Their fear is that government-mandated comprehensive inspections will raise costs and delay flights for an already unprofitable (and tardy) industry. “Recent reports by various groups have rated ‘cargo inspection’ with a poor grade. This is being interpreted as indicting the entirety of air cargo security — which is simply false. Inspection is not the only way, nor is it the best metric, to assess air cargo security as a whole,” said a spokesman for the group. The assocation points to the follwing programs as evidence of current and sufficient cargo security measures:

[MICHAEL: BULLET POINTS BELOW]

— Enhanced Known Shipper Program. The program requires shippers to be fully vetted and tested prior to shipping packages on passenger planes

— Random Inspection: The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) regularly inspects cargo at airports across the nation. The percentage of random inspections has tripled since September 11

— Canine Inspection: TSA has dramatically expanded the number of canine detection units at airport cargo facilities

— Improved Facility Security: New requirements have been set on security procedures at cargo loading facilities, including perimeter security, cameras, and secure entrances

— Extensive Background Checks: The new TSA rule on air cargo requires all personnel that are in contact with cargo to undergo extensive background checks. This information is run against the terrorist watch list and other databases

— Security Training and Certification: All freight forwarders have been subject to security training in the past, but recent TSA rules require a more robust plan and training for all those who handle air cargo in a forwarding facility.

— Stronger Requirements for Indirect Air Carrier (IAC) Certification: IACs, or forwarders, have strict compliance requirements in order to be recertified, a process that must be completed every year in order to stay in business. TSA conducts regular checks throughout the year to ensure IACs are following Known Shipper guidelines, perimeter security guidelines, and the security training requirements.

-read more in this company news release; Airforwarders Web site