IATA calls for security harmonization

   To make air cargo more secure, stakeholders need to achieve closer cooperation and current governmental regulations must be harmonized to prevent redundancies, according to the International Air Transport Association’s Chief Executive Officer Tony Tyler.
   In a speech during the organization’s Secure Freight Forum in Geneva, Tyler, who was pushing the organization’s Secure Freight program, also called for cooperation between nations and a long-term commitment among all parties involved in air cargo security.
   “Success in security comes through developing and applying global standards, and this will require a team effort from across the whole industry and with government,” Tyler said during the speech. “It is a common goal. But we can only achieve it if we are aligned in our understanding of the issues and our approach to mitigating them.”
   IATA has successfully carried out its Secure Freight pilot program, a test that wraps all of these important issues together, in eight locations around the world. The program is tailored to each country, developed individually from security standards championed by the International Civil Aviation Organization. In Malaysia, for instance, a Secure Freight case study found that implementation could lead to a savings of $350 million to $650 million each year.
   Tyler cautioned, though, that a change in the industry’s security measures won’t come overnight, but the changes outlined in the pilot program need to be implemented in order to ensure the health of the air cargo industry.
   “Our challenge is to build momentum for the development of harmonized and effective cargo security regimes,” he said. “Secure Freight can play an important part in this with the development of its network and the implementation and sharing of best practices with common standards for both industry and regulators.” – Jon Ross