LAX starts screening 100pc of cargo on passenger jets

LOS ANGELES International Airport has started requiring air freight shippers to screen 100 per cent of cargo placed in the bellies of wide-body aircraft passing through its gates as part of the Certified Cargo Screening Programme.

Some of the security screening will be completed by independent facilities such as Mercury Air Group that has a Cargo Screening Facility near LAX equipped with a US$200,000 X-ray machine. However, a bulk of the work will be done by freight forwarders, which book cargo on passenger airlines.

"We knew this was an important programme to get involved in," said David Herbst, executive vice president of Mercury Air Group, one of the first independent cargo screening facilities in the country.

"There's been an increased cost in manpower, but that cost is offset by safety," Mr Herbst was quoted as saying in a report by dailybreeze.com. "While I don't want to minimise the increase in costs, that money is making travel even safer."

More than 800 companies nationwide are certified to screen cargo, according to US Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Suzanne Trevino.

"We are confident the Certified Cargo Screening Programme is the most effective way to meet the 100 per cent screening requirement without affecting the flow of commerce," Ms Trevino was quoted as saying.

"It's become apparent to us in the freight forwarding business that this is going to be our responsibility for the most part," said Brandon Fried, executive director of the Air Forwarders Association based in Washington, DC. "So we've been stepping up to the plate and making the investments."

The cost for cargo screening equipment widely ranges from $30,000 to $500,000 per facility, according to Mr Fried. TSA officials admit there has been limited funding to purchase the equipment and develop new technology aimed at screening air freight.

"Congress made no provisions and did not pay for the technology, so consumers will ultimately pay for this," Mr Fried added.

LAX handled 1.6 million tons of air freight and mail worth more than $60 billion in 2009, according to airport and TSA officials, who expect last year's volumes to be surpassed after handling 941,238 tons of cargo in the first six months of the year.
(Source:www.schednet.com)