If you feel a logistical nightmare coming on, you’ve probably read about the new federal aviation cargo screening rules scheduled to go into effect in August 3, 2010. In just 8 short months all freight shipped aboard commercial airlines will have to be screened for bombs just like suitcases are screened now. Federal and aviation industry officials are becoming more than a little concerned that a lack of screeners will ground thousands of tons of cargo.
Sending an airplane into the sky is an expensive proposition. It’s common practice to stuff airplane cargo holds as full as possible to maximize cost efficiency. There’s no profit in flying empty space! As many as half a million boxes or 10 million pounds of cargo are shipped on U.S. passenger planes every day — almost none of it scrutinized by security. And therein lies the problem — and the risk.
Shipping cargo is an important revenue source for airlines, FOB operations and the entire network of companies that provide support services to the airline industry. Requiring that every item of cargo placed in an airplane be inspected by an as yet non-existent security force has the potential to be a huge problem. In cities across the country, shippers are currently meeting with federal transportation authorities to review certification requirements in the hopes of creating, training and implementing a security force, procedures and facilities before the August deadline.
The issue presenting the biggest problem is that federal law requires that each item be individually screened by a human, x-ray machine, explosive-detecting equipment or trained dogs. The law is an obvious mismatch for current shipping practices which prepackages freight on pallets. At least the law doesn’t require cargo items to be screened at the airport as luggage is. The TSA is permitted to certify private firms to screen cargo at any point in the shipping process as long as secure delivery is provided to airlines.
Next time: CartCaddys to the rescue!
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