Report: Air Freight Security Reform Still Needed
A report coinciding with the sixth anniversary of 9/11 has been published by the US Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General's Office. Focusing on the security aspects of air freight operations in the US, the report states much ground still needs to be covered by the Transportation Security Administration to safeguard against potential terrorist action.
The majority of air freight is too out-sized to be accommodated in regular bomb scanning devices. Consequently, physical inspections are undertaken by employees of the airline in question - overseen by the Transport Security Administration. The procedures employed in said oversight, according to Richard Skinner, the Inspector General, "increase the opportunities" for bombs to be smuggled into freight containers.
Mr Skinner described how the Transportation Security Administration has insufficient numbers of inspectors within its employment. Additionally, that its rules are unclear, its enforcement is not universally applied, and its training is not thorough enough.
In response, the TSA affirmed that many of these complaints had already been solved. According to officials within the organisation, the rules have now been made clearer, while it also intends to increase its inspector force by half by 2009. Furthermore, said the officials, bomb scanners were now being used to scrutinise all freight.
Conceding that some action had been taken, Mr Skinner, however, highlighted how some concerns remained outstanding. Of the seven prime recommendations made in the report, only one, he added, had been fully implemented.
According to some analysts, an air-travel process with 100 per cent security across its operations is an unachievable dream. In line with this new report, the TSA can be seen to have made some improvements to the system. However, major progression is still needed - six years after the events of 9/11 highlighted the destructive potency of airborne operations.
Source - Freight International's US Correspondent
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