Airline shippers' launches in-house screening

AIRLINE shippers are taking screening in house ahead of full screening deadline of every freight shipment in the bellies of passenger planes by gaining their own Transport Security Administration (TSA) certified facilities for sensitive or high-value cargo.

Pharmaceutical companies like New York-based Pfizer said any delays could hurt its product so the decision to handle its own sensitive cargo in pre-flight inspections under the TSA's program "became a very simple choice" said the director of global conveyance security Brad Elrod in a Bloomberg newswire.

"It could be sitting in non-temperature-controlled environments. If you open it up to inspect it, you ruin the product," he added.

Fine art shipper Racine Berkow Associates has trained employees in security procedures in order to gain TSA certification and instead attaches special package seals that fast track cargo past airport screening to avoid damage to costly cargo.

Carriers like Delta are increasing its charge for shippers who don't screen to to 12 cents per kilogram from five cents. It has installed machines at its busiest hubs of Atlanta, Seattle and Los Angeles after last year's record ton of cargo per mile for a passenger airline.

American Airlines has invested in seven Rapiscan scanning units at a cost of US$300,000 each in order to screen half of cargo it ships and expects hiccups rather than a standstill in the supply chain.

"We will see, probably at a major airport, some cargo get left behind just because of a miscommunication or a spike in activity that we weren't anticipating," said AA president of cargo Dave Brooks.

TSA general manager for air cargo security Doug Brittin agreed that holds up after the deadline are most likely at Los Angeles International Airport, Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and New York's John F Kennedy International Airport.

TSA agency officials say the 100 per cent deadline for cargo arriving on passenger planes from overseas for transfer onto domestic flights is unlikely to be met.
(Source:www.schednet.com)