ICAO screening standards slowing down already stressed US airfreight

A majority of freight forwarders are experiencing longer processing times for cargo tendered to all-cargo and freighter airlines in the U.S. after the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) began enforcing new air cargo security standards from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on July 1, according to an audience poll during today’s AirCargo 2021 webinar. [caption id="attachment_65890" align="alignright" width="350"] MSA Security bomb Dog Training[/caption] Three-quarters of the poll’s respondents were experiencing higher wait times, as the industry adjusts to security standards calling for the screening of all international cargo, including cargo moving on cargo-only flights. Previous standards called for only screening cargo moving on passenger flights. While the industry was well aware of the planned implementation date, conducting the additional screening is putting additional strain on a logistics network that is already struggling due to the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specific guidance from the TSA on the new standards was also scarce, according to panelists during today’s discussion. “The general tone that you would get from the shippers in and of themselves is frustration and anxiety regarding, at a high level, the implementation or deployment approach or enforcement of this,” said AIT Worldwide Logistics VP of Americas for Airfreight Ryan Carter. Although the TSA held a closed meeting with shippers and logistics providers earlier this year, the level of shipper confusion about the new standards indicates they were not sufficiently involved in implementation planning to prevent the current delays. “When the shippers have been omitted … in regard to the implementation effects of this, it creates a lot of stress in their own supply chains in an environment where the pandemic has created its own set of issues, whether you talk about delays at airports, seaports, whatever it might be,” Carter said. Some of those issues stem from normal TSA practice, as panelist Steve Alterman, president of the Cargo Airline Association, described it, of “not letting any part of the industry know what the other part of the industry is required to do.” To address the shortcomings that result from current TSA policies, Alterman noted that he and moderator Brandon Fried, executive director of the AirForwarders Association, have spent the past weeks in an “educational attempt” with the TSA, “trying to impress upon TSA that in most instances… [cargo airlines] don’t have direct communication with the shipper — that’s what the indirect air carrier does.” “We keep telling TSA that you’ve got to be able to tell the IACs, what are the requirements that have to be undertaken,” Alterman said. “The way it can move seamlessly is if the IAC gets impractical-to-screen cargo, it can then deal with its customer to determine whether it’s an impractical screen, and all you do to get it moved on the direct air carrier is to provide a certification that you’ve checked.” The use of K9 screening to meet security standards is allowed under the ICAO standards, a solution touted by airfreight providers and industry associations — including the Airforwarders Association — which alongside Airports Council International North America and the Air & Expedited Motor Carriers Association presents the AirCargo 2021 event. Alterman said that the number of trained dogs currently available for screening is insufficient to meet the industry’s needs. Fellow panelist Matt Hodson, vice president, enterprise sales at STG Logistics, elaborated that whether there are enough dogs available “depends on your contracts,” noting that STG has fared well with K9 screening because the company was “very early in the game and made sure we filled our commitment to our K9 providers.” Organizations that were later to adopt K9 screening are the parties struggling to cover their needs, Hodson said.

ICAO screening standards slowing down already stressed US airfreight

76% of AirCargo 2021 participants saw processing times increase since July 1

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ICAO screening standards slowing down already stressed US airfreight

76% of AirCargo 2021 participants saw processing times increase since July 1

June cargo traffic reveals mixed recovery for major Asian carriers

Airbus beefs up modified freighter fleet

Airbus beefs up modified freighter fleet

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June cargo traffic reveals mixed recovery for major Asian carriers