More security could slow airfreight flows even further - IATA

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Wednesday, 07 December 2016

Adding layers of air cargo security could end up slowing the flow of airfreight around the world, IATA's senior manager for Cargo, Customs and Claims Christian Piaget has told the Transport Security conference in London.

He said while many aspects of passenger security had been automated, this did not seem to be happening in cargo, with average transit times for international air cargo now about six days, a figure that hasn't improved in 30 years.

He said one block was Customs processes, with data elements per consignment requested 70 times on average.

Efforts had been made to manage this through the World Customs Organization's ‘SAFE’ framework of standards to facilitate global trade, where some data is given to Customs authorities before cargo is loaded onto aircraft.

However, said Piaget, while 189 countries have ratified SAFE standards, only 65 have actually implemented them.

Also, some Customs authorities demand information much earlier than others and airlines often are asked to provide information they do not have (ie, the enquiry should have been directed at the forwarder or shipper).

Nevertheless, the Secure Freight Program implemented in 2008 has identified potential bottlenecks and inconsistencies in the system and is making countries more aware of their obligations.

He added that security measures have improved some aspects of the industry, including by reducing the number of consignments that go missing.