TSA: Cargo from five Middle Eastern countries subject to additional screenings

Cargo arriving into the United States aboard passenger or cargo-only flights originating from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will undergo additional screening.    Cargo originating in five Middle Eastern countries will undergo additional screening per a new set of rules set out by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the agency told American Shipper.
   The U.S. government shutdown over the weekend and into Monday meant that no formal written statement has been published on the TSA’s website. However, officials told reporters that the decision to implement new cargo screening rules was based on intelligence indicating potential bomb attacks.
   The new rules will apply to all cargo on passenger or cargo-only flights originating from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to the U.S., officials said. A program called Air Cargo Advance Screening (ACAS) – which is usually voluntary – will now be required for flights departing from those five countries.
   TSA administrator David Pekoske told CBS News that, “In close co-ordination with Customs and Border Patrol, I directed specific carriers to implement strict security requirements based upon recent information that established a need to implement additional security measures for air cargo bound to the United States.”
   Affected airlines will send U.S. authorities information about the cargo they intend to carry in advance. Types of information covered by the scheme include shipping records – which could point authorities towards anomalies. Such anomalies include a $100 printer already available on the U.S. market being shipped to the U.S. at a cost of $500 from a country known to have some terrorist activity, officials told CBS News. Such an item might raise a warning, they said.
   Under this order, TSA and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) can now mandate secondary inspections of flagged cargo. “We haven’t necessarily seen anything ‘brand new’ in terms of a new threat but we are seeing things and want to stay ahead of the threat that we’ve seen over the past nine months or so,” a TSA official told reporters. “There’s enough out there, enough threat streams, that give us enough concern that we need to move forward with this as quickly as possible.”
   Many airlines already voluntarily comply with the ACAS protocol, and all six airlines are complying with the new requirements. TSA will work with the airlines to make sure they stay in compliance, officials told reporters.
   Airports in the five Middle Eastern countries affected by the new order include Cairo International Airport (Egypt), Queen Alia International Airport (Jordan), King Abdul-Aziz International Airport (Saudi Arabia), King Khalid International Airport (Saudi Arabia), Doha International Airport (Qatar), Dubai International Airport (UAE) and Abu Dhabi International Airport (UAE).
   Airlines affected by the order include Egypt Air, Royal Jordanian, Saudia, Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad.