FAA OFFICIAL: TSA TO TAKE OVER ALL AVIATION TRANSPORT SECURITY

FAA OFFICIAL: TSA TO TAKE OVER ALL AVIATION TRANSPORT SECURITY    The Transportation Security Administration will take over all security within aviation for passengers and cargo Feb. 18, a Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday.
   “We will no longer be FAA; will be TSA,” said Gerald Moore, Dangerous Goods and Cargo Security program manager for FAA’s Western Pacific region. “In a matter of a couple of weeks there will be no more FAA security division.”
   Moore, speaking to industry executives at the American Association of Exporters and Importers in Manhattan Beach, Calif., said that the TSA, which was established under the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, is one of many measures enacted by government to ensure air cargo and passenger security since Sept. 11.
   The TSA’s takeover is intended to provide comprehensive, standardized air cargo security, he said. Under the act, all cargo that enters passenger and cargo planes will be screened, but that date is yet to be determined. The TSA is considering several modes for such screening, he said.
   Moore asked that industry, particularly indirect air carriers (IACs), be patient with FAA’s necessary changes to emergency amendments to the known shipper ruling, which requires that IACs verify a shipper. Carriers have to adhere to more frequent changes on these amendments. “If you think you’ve got it bad, just try being an airline for a while,” he said.
   The content of air cargo security mandates is a national security issue that cannot be discussed openly, for fear that terrorists may obtain such information, he added. “They are carrying out what they believe is to be righteous for their cause.'