"Freight, the Achilles' heel of US air security"

Wednesday, May 22, 2002

Freight, the Achilles' heel of US air security
by Francis Temman
Agence France Presse


WASHINGTON, (AFP) - Unlike checked luggage, merchandise in the cargo
holds of passenger airplanes is not systematically inspected -- a
loophole in airline security that terrorists could well exploit.

That possibility is the object of a top secret report by the Federal
Aviation Administration, titled "Air Cargo Threat Assessment," whose
existence was revealed Wednesday in USA Today.

The report was written in October, about a month after the September 11
attacks in which terrorists hijacked passenger planes and slammed them
into buildings, killing more than 3,000, an FAA official confirmed
Wednesday.

"The report does exist but it deals with security matters and should not
be out there," the official told AFP, speaking on condition of
anonymity.

According to USA Today, the report warns that terrorists "may be tempted
to take advantage of cargo shipments" as security measures zero in on
passengers background checks and checked baggage.

The reports' authors paint a scenario in which terrorists get
booby-trapped packages on board, then sit in the terminal and watch an
airplane explode.

Such terrorists "may perceive an attempt (at using cargo) to be
relatively accessible and risk free," the report said.

About 80 percent of cargo sent by air is carried in the holds of
passenger planes serving regularly scheduled routes. The rest goes on
cargo airplanes, according to the Transportation Security Administration
(TSA), a federal agency created after the September 11 attacks.

The holds are situated directly below the passenger decks of airlines.

But, according to USA Today, almost no cargo is systematically
inspected. Instead, certified shipping companies and "indirect air
carriers" purchase freight space on board airplanes and provide written
declarations that their cargo is safe.

Federal agents conduct random inspections for dangerous materials,
according to a TSA spokeswoman, Deirdre O'Sullivan.

The FAA report also noted that a terrorist could get hired by a shipping
company, as US officials do not require such firms to do background
checks on their employees.

O'Sullivan refused to say whether new measures had been taken to address
the weakness. "We are constantly working on a variety of plans to
enhance programs for air cargo as part of our overall security plans. We
don't discuss security issues, she said.


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