US screening bill scrapped

Although a troublesome US congressional bill on screening all cargo and express package aircraft looks as though it’s dead in the water, this shouldn’t give the message that aviation security is in any way slackening off. According to Bob Garbett, MD of Professional Risk & Asset Management and chairman of the Business Aviation Association of Southern Africa (Baasa), cargo security in SA is a matter for everyday focus. With our Part 108 aviation security legislation, Garbett added, we have an ideal air cargo screening procedure – with an integration of physically checking cargo consignments with the inspectors using the likes of X-ray (or even more applicably, he told FTW, trained bomb-sniffer dogs) and the security procedure of having “known cargo consignors and consignees”. The contentious US congressional bill is the Air Cargo Security Act for 100% screening of all cargo and package express carriers, and it came in the wake of the foiled Yemeni bomb plot. It was supported by Massachusetts Democratic Congressman Edward Markey – the author of 2009 legislation on screening of all cargo on passenger flights – while critics described it as a “rather typical kneejerk reaction”. But, say international press reports, the bill died on the order paper as the 111th Congress adjourned. And – with control passing to Republicans from Democrats – there is little chance of it being revived. The Air Cargo Security Act was referred to the House Homeland Security Committee where it went no further, and it is now considered past history.