Airlines ordered to conduct random inspections of cargo
Dateline: Wednesday November 19, 2003
The US Transportation Security Administration yesterday said it will require passenger and freight airlines to inspect air cargo randomly and directed that non-US all-cargo carriers transporting goods into and out of the US comply with "the same security procedures" that domestic air carriers must follow.
But TSA will not require 100% physical screening of air cargo because it is "impractical" given technological and infrastructure limitations. The agency, part of the Dept. of Homeland Security, announced the new mandates as it unveiled its Air Cargo Strategic Plan intended to address acknowledged shortcomings in US air cargo security. In a statement, TSA Administrator James Loy said the agency "recognizes that vulnerabilities in air cargo security threaten our entire air transportation system."
The strategic plan has four objectives. The first, "enhance[d] shipper and supply chain security," will be achieved through "a more thorough vetting of shippers and indirect air carriers applying for the Known Shipper program and validation respectively." Additionally, TSA will develop new training programs for employees involved in the movement of air cargo.
The second objective, "identify[ing] elevated risk cargo through prescreening," will be accomplished via development of a cargo pre-screening system that uses shipment data as well as information from the Known Shipper and IAC databases to develop a risk score for each specific shipment of domestic cargo. TSA noted that the US Customs Service, now the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, "has successfully used an information-based targeting regime to identify high-risk cargo entering the US for years."
TSA added that because developing the system will take time, it "will require that aircraft operators begin to randomly inspect cargo to be transported on passenger aircraft in order to add another layer of defense."
The third objective is to "identify technology for performing targeted air cargo inspections." The agency said it is planning a number of pilot projects to study the applicability of current and emerging nonintrusive inspection technologies.
Lastly, TSA wants to secure all-cargo aircraft through "appropriate facility security measures." As part of this objective, airport operators and operators of all-cargo aircraft with an MTOW of more than 12,500 lb. among other things will be required to step up employee background checks, "secure unattended aircraft" and "randomly screen cargo for stowaways."
The agency said that the strategic plan will be supported by a notice of proposed rulemaking to be published in the coming months.--Perry Flint
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