75% Screening Mandate



The entire industry has been looking toward August 1, 2010 when screening 100% of cargo becomes mandatory.

The February 1, 2009 mandate calling for screening of 50% of cargo came and went with little disturbance. None of us saw any major change to the way we did business. However, at that time, the airlines that were screening the vast majority of the freight were in the midst of one of the worst down turns. In addition, TSA allowed for different ways to calculate the 50%, giving the industry a lot of leeway and extra time to get used to screening. 50% of all AWBS is much different from 50% of all freight. These factors made it easier for the airlines to deal with the extra screenings.

The industry as a whole might have been lulled into a stage of passiveness with many companies adopting a “let’s take it as it comes, if it comes” approach. The recently introduced 75% screening mandate, which goes into effect May 1, will be a wake-up call. Almost daily we are seeing news letters from airlines introducing screening fees and new acceptance procedures.

The screening fees seem to vary from 5c/kg to 13c/kg and some airlines are introducing quite heavy fees for breaking down units, banded or shrink wrapped skids to meet the 'screen on a piece level' rule.

The next three months leading up to the 100% mandate on August 1 will be very interesting and will test the airlines’ ability to cope with the task.