IATA initiative

IATA initiative
Aim is to bridge security gap between nations.

By Eric Kulisch

   As the U.S. government begins a comprehensive effort to inspect cargo on passenger planes, the International Air Transport Association is trying to build the capability of other countries to develop air cargo security programs of their own that adhere to common international standards.
   The primary goal of the Secure Freight initiative is to create a system that enables cargo to be screened upstream from the airport along the lines of the Transportation Security Administration's Certified Cargo Screening Program, which enlists shippers and logistics service providers to screen cargo themselves and ensure its tamper-free passage to the airport.
   Countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States and the European Union have well regulated air cargo supply chains to prevent bombs on aircraft and theft. Secure Freight is targeted at addressing deficiencies in countries that lack security programs. IATA, which represents the airline industry, has created a security template, documents and best practices to help needy governments set up a security program.
   'It's kind of like a security program in a box for countries that don't have the resources' to establish a regime on their own, Brandon Fried, executive director of the Airforwarders Association, said May 4 at the Cargo Network Services conference in Miami.
   Secure Freight is also intended to assure countries with existing programs that inbound and transshipment cargo are adequately secured at the point of uplift. The United States, for example, cannot meet the 100 percent inspection mandate on inbound shipments without crippling air cargo business because it doesn't have the authority in other countries to regulate cargo security outside the confines of carriers entering the United States.
   The guiding principles focus on secure shipper handling and processes to minimize the necessity for expensive X-ray devices and getting other governments to recognize the security regimes as compatible with their own practices so that transshipment and inbound cargo doesn't have to be rescreened, and airlines don't face the burden of complying with dozens of inconsistent security standards around the world.
   IATA is conducting a trial program in Malaysia to prove that industry can successfully meet airline security requirements and avoid bottlenecks at the airline dock. The organization plans to next roll out the program in Cairo, Egypt, at the request of the government and Egypt Air, said Steve Smith, director of cargo supply chain management. It also wants to start a program in two other locations this year after plugging any gaps discovered moving live shipments under the Malaysian pilot.
   The Malaysian government is dedicating resources to get the project off the ground because 'it believes it is becoming uncompetitive in the Asian market' due to large amounts of theft in the air cargo sector, he said. DHL Global Forwarding and computer processor maker Intel are key participants in the pilot program.
   Countries that want to participate in the program must be signatories to the World Customs Organization's Safe Framework of security standards and enter into a memorandum of understanding with IATA before security audits and training can begin. States that do not have a legal framework that allows for supply chain security partnerships with the private sector need to write a national Secure Freight program into their legislation.
      The trade group estimates the airline industry could save up to $468 million per year by avoiding physical screening and delays at airports if countries adopt Secure Freight, Smith said. Achieving the full benefits will require U.S. and EU recognition of country programs that follow the Secure Freight model, he added.
   One way to reduce cost and efficiency is to transmit security information electronically, where practical, instead of using paper declarations. The messages include a special handling code to communicate to the airline that the shipment has been properly secured. The approach fits with IATA's e-freight initiative designed to switch all air cargo transactions to electronic format.
      A Secure Freight standards manual defines how authorities should audit the legitimacy of shipper and security standards at their premises, the handover process between parties in the supply chain, what to do in cases of tampering, incident reporting mechanisms and steps to prevent reoccurrences. The program also provides detailed operational procedures about how to securely move cargo and associated information through the supply chain to the aircraft.
   A key next step is to get the Netherlands to recognize the Secure Freight program so transshipments don't have to be screened again at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, a major transfer hub for air carriers, Smith said.