Air forwarders seek global air cargo security standard

Air forwarders seek global air cargo security standard    The Airforwarders Association Wednesday called on President Barack Obama to obtain international consensus at the G20 summit underway in Seoul, South Korea, for aligning air cargo security programs around the principle of risk management
   The recent plot to ship improvised parcel bombs on U.S.-found cargo planes has led to industry concerns that governments might move to inspect every package prior to loading. Differences in cargo security standards around the world also make it difficult for the U.S. government and airlines to fully implement new rules for screening all cargo on passenger planes arriving from overseas destinations.
   Harmonizing supply chain security measures would ensure the smooth flow of commerce and help economic growth, which is the G20s primary mission.

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   'Now is the time, with the help of your G20 colleagues, to form an international working group to develop realistic, risk-based and multilayered solutions to air cargo security,' the lobbying group said. 'Calling for the screening of every box and parcel might initially appear effective, but only diverts focus, time, money and resources from more meaningful ' solutions. We don't need more time and money wasted on 'security theater.' '
   Clark Kent Ervin, director of the Aspen Institute's homeland security program and the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general in 2003-2004, said more urgency should be placed on fully developing technology that can efficiently and economically scan all air cargo shipments. He acknowledged on C-SPAN's 'Washington Journal' program that it would be premature to implement a 100-percent inspection mandate until such devices are available.
   Meanwhile, Scotland Yard said the makeshift bomb found in the cargo hold of a UPS 747-400 plane at East Midlands Airport would have exploded over the eastern seaboard of the United States if it had not been discovered, according to news reports. The bomb was timed to go off at 10:30 a.m. British time on Oct. 29, or 5:30 a.m. Eastern time. The bomb was defused less than three hours before it was set to explode, British police said.
   British officials said they were not immediately able to identify a bomb in the package removed from the plane based on a tip from Saudi Arabian intelligence. Sniffer dogs and explosives detection equipment missed the plastic explosive, prompting authorities to allow the UPS plane to proceed to Philadelphia, according to the New York Times.
   The bomb included cell phone components that previously were considered a way for the terrorists to remotely activate the bomb, but are now believed to be timers because the so-called SIM cards necessary to receive calls were missing, the newspaper reported.
   Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for delivering the package bomb and one that was found at a FedEx facility in Dubai.
   In a security bulletin from Tuesday, the DHS and the FBI dismissed the group's additional claim that it caused the September crash of a UPS plane after take off from Dubai, according to news accounts. A U.S. official also told reporters on background that there was no evidence so far that the Sept. 3 crash involved terrorism. ' Eric Kulisch