Air cargo: Towards a global security regime.

(From Business Line)

FOLLOWING the cataclysmic airborne 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre, the Aviation Security Act, passed in the US, stipulated that all-cargo airlines must operate a system that screens, inspects or otherwise ensures the security of goods aboard their aircraft.

US forwarders could face losing their licences for security violations under the new law considered by the US Congress.

The Air Cargo Security Act, otherwise Senate 165, largely formalises what is already agreed - that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) sets in place air cargo screening and 'known-shipper' programmes.

The airlines already have to lock cockpit doors; soon they will install grenade-proof barriers that cost up to $50,000 each. Estimates put the price tag of security measures for airlines close to $2 billion. …