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THE International Air Cargo Association's (TIACA) industry affairs committee is calling for air cargo security controls worldwide to be coordinated to avoid a multiplicity of industry regulations that could slow down trade.
Global aviation security must be threat-based, risk-managed, multilayered and operationally consistent to be effective, said industry affairs committee chairman Ulrich Ogiermann, also CEO of Cargolux.
Mr Ogiermann said that security agencies should understand and make the best use of the resources and expertise employed by global trade and transport operators to meet their own commercial and security requirements.
His comments come ahead of the introduction of new US air cargo rules in February that will require the screening of 50 per cent of all airfreight carried onboard passenger aircraft, a level that is scheduled to rise to 100 percent by August 2010, said a report by Shipping Digest, Newark.
The report said that TIACA recommends more consultation on national legislation, such as import controls, that can affect trade partners beyond a country's borders.
Restrictions and controls should be reasonably and visibly related to the threats they are intended to counter, Mr Ogiermann was quoted as saying. While sudden, unexpected developments could justify urgent unilateral action, broad security strategy and related legislation should be based on systematic consultation with relevant and responsible business interests.
TIACA also said it wants to simplify security compliance and audit record-keeping for traders, carriers and intermediaries, and deploy market forces to ensure safety.
TIACA will actively support measures that are proven to improve airport and air cargo security. New initiatives, however, must be effective, workable and affordable and create a minimum of disruption to the flow of air cargo.
Failure to meet these objectives will create an environment where transport and, therefore, trade is disrupted, it said.
Source: American Shipper
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