The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the European Union last Friday signed an agreement aimed at achieving consistent standards in carrying out security practices for cargo carried on passenger planes thereby increasing overall security.
Under the agreement, TSA and the EU’s Directorate General for Energy and Transport will try to put in place “commensurate systems” to ensure the security of 50 percent of the cargo carried on passenger flights by February 2009 and 100 percent by August 2010 between their respective territories. The agreement also calls for trying to develop common technical standards for detection technologies and finding procedures to enhance security throughout the air cargo supply chain.
The 9/11 Act signed by President Bush in August 2007 calls for 50 percent of all cargo carried on passenger planes in the United States to be screened by next February and all of the cargo on passenger planes in the country to be screened by August 2010. In October, TSA achieved one of the milestones along the way by ensuring that 100 percent of all cargo on narrow body passenger planes in the U.S. is screened. That represents about 25 percent of all air cargo originating on a U.S.-based flight.
To meet the mandated screening goals, TSA established the Certified Cargo Screening Program. Right now U.S. airlines are responsible for screening a certain percentage–the number is classified–of cargo going on their passenger planes. To meet the 50 and 100 percent requirements will require much of the screening to be done deeper in the supply chain, including possibly by some manufacturers. TSA is also rolling out a pilot whereby some indirect air carriers, which forward cargo to the airlines after receiving it from manufacturers, will do screening in their facilities.
While in some cases physical inspections will be viable and valid, in most instances screening will be done with advanced X-Ray systems, explosive trace detectors and bomb sniffing dogs.