News
- New Air Security Regulations
- 6/4/2010
- ‘INCOMPATIBLE’ SECURITY REGULATIONS WILL SLOW AIR CARGO MOVEMENTS AND INCREASE COSTS
Vital international movements of airfreight could be delayed, and costs will increase, because European and US security regulations are incompatible.
Poor communication between the respective authorities was also highlighted as an impediment to a future secure supply chain at the Executive Summit of The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) in Leipzig this week.
Karl-Heinze Köpfle, Executive Board Member Operations at Lufthansa Cargo, told the conference he was surprised that standardized security protocols had still not been agreed nine years on from the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Ten separate agencies were imposing dissimilar rules, Köpfle said. In particular, the approach of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in the US made little sense.
“We were horrified to note that the EU and US differ on fundamental points. There is a different philosophy and they don’t harmonize,” he said. “Alongside this, other countries have drafted their own regulations. There are an astonishing number of these. None translate immediately into practice.”
Jan Mücke, Parliamentary Secretary of State in the German Ministry of Transport, began the heated debate by explaining that Europe’s Secure Supply Chain initiative focused on shippers and forwarders with the aim of reducing potential airport bottlenecks, but complained that the US did not recognize the European Commission’s control mechanisms.
Mücke was also concerned that, ahead of the August 3 deadline for screening all cargo traveling on outbound passenger aircraft from the US, an interim demand for 75% screening by May 1 had been introduced at short notice. He called for carriers meeting EU Secure Supply Chain requirements to be exempted from the screening requirement.
The US imports 1.4 million tons of airfreight a year from 97 countries, which Doug Brittin, Air Cargo Manager for the TSA, admitted raises complex issues. The agency has not given a date to US Congress for achieving full security compliance for foreign origin shipments
But Lufthansa’s Köpfle pointed out how regulations governing US domestic and export air movements will also constrain imports. A shipment from Frankfurt to Mexico, certified safe to EC rules, would be barred if it transhipped via Miami. Köpfle claimed that the TSA had opted for screening at the last possible point in the chain, mimicking the passenger process, so built pallets flown in from Europe would not be certified safe.
He further complained that the TSA had “taken the liberty of changing its mind” by announcing the 75% deadline in mid-April, just two weeks ahead of implementation. This was announced direct to airlines, not through the aviation authorities.
Brittin said that airlines were notified of the 75% requirement in January, although the process was not finalised until the end of March.
“We went to 75% to make sure people were aware of what would happen when we go to 100%,” Brittin said. “There is less opportunity <for industry> to hide behind the difficult-to-screen commodities such as pharmaceuticals and perishables. We can get the bugs worked out before we reach the critical fourth quarter.”
Brittin said carriers were already approaching system capacity for screening cargo at the airport. “We want to see cargo screened at the earliest possible point in the supply chain.”
He welcomed the “new breed” of Independent Cargo Screening Facilities that had developed close to the main 18 gateway airports through which 94% of US airfreight exports pass, and observed that Indirect Air Carriers (IACs) were starting to position implants in shippers’ premises.
The TSA is obliged to assess individual countries’ security programs. Brittin pointed out that the EU’s overarching legislation had limited value, since member states could implement it differently.
Harald Zielinski, Head of Security at Lufthansa Cargo, said: “Everything we ship is secure, both on passenger aircraft and freighters. Don’t you trust what we’re doing?”
Brittin said the TSA did not have access to the German security program. “It may well surpass what we’re doing in the US, but until we know, we can’t make assumptions.”
TIACA has pledged to use its influence with members of the air cargo supply chain and government agencies to try to ensure improved flow of information in future. “The 100% screening deadline for passenger aircraft in the US is looming in August, and we face an uncertain deadline for foreign origin shipments,” said Ulrich Ogiermann, TIACA’s Chairman.
“It is clear that months if not years of work lies ahead in order to secure the supply chain in both directions without impeding the flow of trade. We are doing everything we can to facilitate this process. As a top priority, we are urging foreign regulatory authorities and TSA to share the details of their air cargo security protocols, so that they can engage in an urgently needed dialogue about possible mutual recognition of these programs. ”
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