In addition, the legislation set an interim milestone to screen 50 per cent of all cargo shipped on passenger aircraft within 18 months of enactment on February 1, 2009. The impact of the Act is that all cargo uplifted in the US must be screened at the piece level by TSA approved methods prior to being loaded onto a passenger aircraft. We are currently only less than 100 days from this first significant milestone.
The Default Insurance Program-DIP policy was concluded in August 2001, and only TAFA ordinary members, which number about 100 out of 136 of total members, of high standard and good financial strength were allowed to participate in this program. Th e DIP program took off on 1 October 2001 with 55 TAFA agents and 38 airlines participating.
The original policy would cover 45 days of aggregated sales amounting to TSA is utilising several approaches to ensure the screening milestones are attained. These include the following:
Narrow-Body Amendment
The Narrow-Body Amendment was issued to passenger air carriers on August 5, 2008 and is effective October 1, 2008. Under this amendment, all cargo uplifted in the US on narrow body aircraft after that date, (export or domestic flights) must be 100 per cent screened at the piece level (i.e. netted, containerised, shrink wrapped skids, etc. must be disassembled and all pieces screened individually).
This segment represents most of the flights in the US, but only a small percentage of cargo carried on passenger aircraft. It is expected that the carriers themselves will be able to accomplish this goal without significant delays, as many of them are screening this segment at close to 100 per cent levels currently.
Standard Security Program
The new Standard Security Program revisions for freight forwarders (IAC’s) and passenger airlines will be posted for industry comment in the coming weeks. The planned final release date is early December 2008, with an effective date of February 1, 2009. The program updates stipulate that 50 per cent of all cargo uplifted on a passenger aircraft in the US be screened at the piece level at that time. Additional policy changes, including screening reporting requirements will also be included.
As with the Narrow- Body Amendment, netted, banded, shrink-wrapped, skids and etc. must be disassembled and all pieces screened individually. However, this is expected to have a significant delay impact on passenger carrier cargo operations if this cargo is screened solely by carriers. The vast majority of air cargo, by weight and number of pieces, is containerised and carried on wide-body aircraft. As these flights are heavily concentrated at major gateway cities, the impact will be most severe for export cargo at those locations.
Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP)
TSA believes the most effective means to assist industry in meeting the mandate of screening 100 per cent of cargo transported on passenger aircraft by August 2010, and screening cargo at the piece level when the 50 per cent mandate is effective, is to employ a supply chainwide solution.
Such a solution will enable TSA certified shippers and Indirect Air Carriers to screen cargo earlier in that chain. We are aggressively pursuing our limited Phase One roll out in 18 major gateway airport markets. In these market areas, a combination of shippers and IAC’s will begin screening cargo as early as the 4th quarter, 2008. Cargo screened by these entities will count toward the minimum requirements of carriers.
More significantly, air cargo received by passenger air carriers already screened and secure will not require further screening. While this program will have some impact in assisting carriers in attaining the 50 per cent milestone, its key impact will be towards attaining 100 per cent by August 2010, when it is fully implemented throughout the US.
The ultimate responsibility to ensure that cargo uplifted on passenger aircraft in the US meets the screening requirements remains with each carrier. The screening requirements apply for all flights originating in the US and its territories, for both US based and non-US based passenger air carriers. – update by Douglas Brittin, Air Cargo Manager, US Transportation Security Administration.FAPAA.indd Sec1:31 10/29/08 3:30:46 PM
