"Anti-Terror Measures Set for Air Cargo"

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Anti-Terror Measures Set for Air Cargo
By LESLIE MILLER
The Associated Press


WASHINGTON -- The government Wednesday announced new security requirements
for air cargo that include criminal background checks for more than 100,000
airline and freight workers and screeners to check packages delivered to
airport ticket counters. 

The Transportation Security Administration said it will also use more
bomb-sniffing dogs to screen freight that's shipped by plane and that it
will soon finish hiring 300 new air cargo inspectors, which Congress
included in the agency's budget this year. 

 "It's a lot about background checks and security plans," said TSA chief Kip
Hawley. 

Hawley said he delayed issuing the rule, which was due in August 2005,
shortly after he was sworn in. The original proposal excluded from the
background check requirement some people who handle freight, he said. 

"I wanted to be sure we covered the entire supply chain," Hawley said. 

Cargo pilots have long complained that the government focuses most of its
efforts on protecting passenger airliners from terrorist attacks, leaving
cargo planes vulnerable. They point out that cargo planes could also be
seized by terrorists and used as weapons. 

Some lawmakers have criticized the Bush administration for screening airline
passengers and their luggage but not inspecting the cargo that's carried on
the same plane. 

Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said billions of pounds of air cargo is loaded onto
passenger planes every year without being scanned at all. 

"The Bush administration missed an important opportunity to close a major
homeland security loophole today when it announced a final air cargo rule
that fails to require inspection of 100 percent of the cargo carried aboard
passenger planes," Markey said. 

Hawley said focusing on packages misses the vulnerability, because a
terrorist who works at an airport could slip bombs into the cargo hold after
each package has been inspected. 

The TSA's long-awaited plan -- it was originally proposed in November 2004
-- includes new regulations for restricting access to sections of airports
used for loading and unloading cargo. 

It also requires the employees of more than 4,000 freight forwarders --
agents who accept packages and arrange shipment -- to attend security
training courses designed by the TSA. Freight forwarders will have to
develop security plans and have them approved by the government. 

Hawley said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff was responsible for
the requirement that packages delivered to the airline ticket counter be
screened. 

"If someone wants a package on a particular flight, we want to be very sure
about that," Hawley said. 

The new requirement is supplemented by such changes as surprise visits by
air cargo inspectors and daily checks against terrorist watch lists of
airport workers with access to sensitive sections of airports, Hawley said. 

The TSA has relied on a "Known Shipper" program to make sure bombs or
weapons don't make their way onto passenger planes. Air cargo companies must
register with the government and be approved by the TSA before they're
allowed to send cargo on passenger airliners. 

The TSA said it will consolidate 4,000 Known Shipper lists into one so it
can keep closer track of companies that ship cargo on passenger planes. 

The agency said that in recent weeks it banned three companies from sending
cargo on passenger aircraft. 

On the Net: 

Transportation Security Administration: http://www.tsa.gov 

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