Airfreight security demands supply chain approach

The International Air Transport Association is calling for a supply chain approach to security in the wake of recent bomb scares. “The entire supply chain,” said director-general and CEO Giovanni Bisignani, “from manufacturer to airport, has a responsibility for secure shipments. The supply chain approach must be driven by government and industry cooperation on investment, processes, technology and risk assessment.” Looking at the technology aspect, Iata insisted that airport screening could not be the first line of defence but that it should be an effective complement to intelligence and supply chain solutions. Also, the association pointed out that there was currently no government-certified technology to screen standard size pallets and large items. “Technology is taking far too long to move from the laboratory to the airport,” Bisgnani said. The association was also quick to pat itself on the back for stressing the urgency of converting to electronic control, and its introduction of ‘E-freight’. “By converting some 20 freight documents to an electronic format,” said Bisignani, “we are improving efficiency and providing the tool for accurate insight into who is shipping what and where.” With this increasing electronic wealth of data, the association suggested that it should be applied to controlling risk. It advised that governments must use this data to intelligently manage freight security. Bisignani accentuated the necessity for a two-way flow of intelligence between industry and governments to help mitigate risks identified through their intelligence operations. “Effective solutions are not developed unilaterally or in haste,” he said. “If there are any longer-term adjustments required, we must do so with all the facts in hand and with measures targeted to meet specific risks.” Rob Garbett, MD of Professional Risk & Asset Management and chairman of the Business Aviation Association of Southern Africa (Baasa), added his support to the current approach to airfreight security. “The integrated process, from consignor to aircraft,” he told FTW, “forms the basis of Annexure 17 of the International Air Cargo Organisation (Icao), upon which the South African Part 108 Regulations are modelled. “Iata, in its recent ‘co-ordinated response on air cargo security’, emphasises the value of security being applied to the entire supply chain from manufacturer to airport – and the responsibility that each sector of the supply chain must accept.”