GAO CALLS AIR CARGO SYSTEM VULNERABLE TO TERRORISTS
Air cargo, especially that which is transported in the bellies of commercial passenger planes, remains highly vulnerable to terrorist attacks.
“These vulnerabilities occur in the security procedures of some air carriers and freight forwarders and in possible tampering with freight at various handoffs that occur from the point when cargo leaves a shipper to the point when it is loaded onto an aircraft,” said the U.S. Government Accounting Office in a report released Jan. 15.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, ranking minority member of the Senate Aviation Subcommittee, requested the GAO study on air-cargo security late last year.
The GAO based its study on a review more than 10 years of air-cargo security improvement recommendations made by the Federal Aviation Administration and now the Transportation Security Administration. The agency measured the effect of these improvements on the air-cargo system.
The agency praised the FAA and air cargo industry for its work in the mid-1990s to develop security-training guidelines for air carriers and ground personnel who handle cargo.
But the GAO pointed out that most air-cargo security initiatives have fallen short. “(A) few recommendations by those groups, such as conducting research and operational tests of technology to screen cargo for explosives, are ongoing and not yet completed by the TSA, or have not been implemented,” the agency said.
The GAO report highlighted recommendations recently made by government and industry experts to improve air-cargo security both in the near term and long term.
Near-term examples of security improvements include the development of background checks for cargo personnel and the implementation of an automated cargo profiling system. In the long-term, the GAO agreed with government and industry experts that the TSA must develop a comprehensive cargo-security plan.
“Without a comprehensive plan that incorporates a risk management approach and sets deadlines and performance targets, TSA and other federal decision makers cannot know whether resources are being deployed as effectively and efficiently as possible in implementing measures to reduce the risk and mitigate the consequences of a terrorist attack,” the GAO said.
The agency emphasized, however, that “each potential improvement measure … needs to be weighed against other issues, such as costs and the effects on the flow of cargo.”
The GAO’s findings are expected to add weight to air-cargo security legislation proposed by Hutchison and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., on Jan. 15.
The senators believe it’s time to enact legislation to develop a “known shipper” and screening programs for air cargo, background checks for air-cargo handlers, and anti-tampering methods for air-cargo in transit to the airports.
“The time is now for the Senate to take up and approve this legislation again — to prevent terrorists from tampering with the cargo loaded into the holds of our airplanes,” Feinstein said.
“Each time there is a major airplane crash or bombing, we reexamine our approach to aviation security,” she added. “I hope it will not take another accident or attack for us to see this legislation enacted into law.”