DEADLINES:

As a result of some of the findings and recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, Congress has enacted a mandate that will require every single piece of air cargo that is being tendered to a passenger airline be screened individually, effective by the dates shown above. The Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is charged with implementing, managing, enforcing, and educating the community on the program.

IT IS NOT A REQUIREMENT for anyone other than the air carrier to screen at the 50% and 100% level. However, the TSA recognizes that the 100% screening requirement conducted only at the airports could result in potentially huge delays in processing and accepting air cargo. It could severely limit the air carrier’s ability to expedite cargoes that are “must ride same day” items such as perishable, high value and other urgent “just in time” shipments. TSA predicts that close out times for air cargo shipments can go from several hours as it is now to as long as up to several days.

TSA is in the process of enacting the “Certified Cargo Screening Program” (CCSP) which is being rolled out and will allow some of the screening process to take place at the shipper facility rather than at the airline facilities.

What does this mean to you? Shippers can voluntarily join the CCSP program. As a member of the program, the shipping company would become a regulated entity under the TSA. TSA would advise the specific standards of operating and security practices you must have in place in order to be qualified. This would mean maintaining stringent security protocols for physical, operational and informational security. TSA inspectors would conduct initial and recurring on-site validations to ensure all required security standards are being met. For those of you who are already CT-PAT certified, you may already meet most of the security standards under the CCSP program.

Air freight forwarders can also become certified cargo screening facilities (CCSF’s), which would also offer an ability for those shippers who are not in a position to meet all standards to be their own screening facility to expedite the movement of their cargo prior to acceptance at the airline.

John S. Connor, Inc. is committed to working hard for our clients and to make this transition to full screening as seamless as possible. We are looking seriously into the possibility of becoming a CCSF and will analyze the requirements we will have to meet in order to do so. We will do everything possible to ensure our customer’s cargoes continue to move as quickly as needed now and in the future.

We have attached an information bulletin issued by the TSA for your information. You may contact them directly for more information regarding the program and how you can join. If you have any questions that we can help you with, please don’t hesitate to contact Dina Duffy, our Director of Air Operations, for further information. She can be reached by e-mail at dinad@jsconnor.com or by phone at 703-574-6127.