A ‘layered approach’ The need to guarantee a high level of security in the air freight chain is accepted as an absolute ‘must’


by everyone in the industry, but of course this has to be tempered by the need to maintain the speedy movement of cargo. One possible answer is an intelligence-led strategy to meeting the terrorist threat


K


ester Meijer, director of operational integrity at KLM Cargo, is at the forefront of the battle to com- bat the terrorist threat to the air freight industry. As well as being responsible for meeting that danger to the Dutch carrier’s freight shipping around the


world, he works very closely with his counterparts at Air France and Martinair, the two other carriers within the AF- KLM-Martinair combine. He also plays a role in keeping his colleagues at other


SkyTeam Cargo freight carriers – such as Delta Air Lines and China Airlines – fully abreast of cargo security developments in Europe. Beyond these relationships with security managers at other


carriers, Meijer serves on the Cargo Security Task Force of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), as well as


being chairman of the Cargo Security Workgroup at the Asso- ciation of European Airlines (AEA). He has been exceptionally busy over the last 18 months or so,


in part because the issue of air freight security was thrown into such sharp relief by the catastrophes that could have resulted if the bombs placed on board aircraft flying from Yemen and dis- covered in Dubai and at the UK’s East Midlands Airport (EMA) a year and a half ago had not been intercepted. The regulatory landscape changed significantly after that,


Meijer believes, as governments moved quickly to shore up security procedures in the air cargo industry. The other big change affecting the air freight security environment concerns the complexity of the threat and the required countermeasures. Not only have terrorists become much more resourceful and varied in the nature of the devices they use, but the equip-


ment and procedures that are consequently required to meet the wider threat have also needed to change. Indeed, such is the wide-


ranging nature of the threat posed by all sorts of impro- vised explosive devices that a single act of screening cannot be the solution. “We need an integrated,


‘intelligent security’ approach to effectively facilitate global trade,” Meijer said. What this means is a “lay-


ered approach”, he considers, one that relies on an intelli- gence-led assessment of the threat and one that entails the appropriate level of screening according to that assessment. Using risk-based profiling at a shipment level is vital, he


Meijer – advocates “intelligent security”


declared, but is now very possible. Of course, this strategy is reliant on the right data being provided but, as Meijer pointed out, that is already being offered to a large extent in some loca- tions, while the gathering momentum of the global e-freight programme can only help. If multinational regulatory bodies can decide on common


global standards and these can be accepted by all nations, that would be a massive step forward in ensuring security, of course. And when he talks about ‘global standards’, it is data and procedures as well as equipment to which Meijer refers. Thus, the correct profiling and security procedures should


be shared, agreed and accepted by all countries, and the recent EU-US recognition of their security procedures is a major step down this road. What data should be provided needs to be defined by common, standard operating procedures, he con- tinued, while the appropriate screening technology should also be agreed between all the relevant regulatory agencies.


ACTIVE PARTICIPATION


To ensure security from door to door, much depends on the active involvement of all parts of the supply chain and of all employees, he observed. Thus, for example, it is not sufficient for just the carrier to be security-conscious: the shipper, for- warder, handler and so on should be too. A European version of the US’s ACAS (Air Cargo Advance Screening) programme should be developed, Meijer said, one which involves more than just data provided by cargo carriers. And all staff should be made aware of the necessity of being


security-conscious; at KLM, he feels a ‘see something, say something’ strategy is invaluable – if any employee sees any- thing suspicious, that individual must say so. Another vital area of collaboration that must be developed


is that between the relevant regulators and industry, he noted. The Netherlands is a role model for this, Meijer considers, being a country which is already involved in a pilot project of e-cargo security declarations. A forwarder (Rhenus), a carrier (KLM), an airport (Schiphol) and Dutch Customs through the Ministry of Finance are all involved in this initiative, designed to test operational procedures for ensuring a higher degree of security. The hope is for some concrete results to be available by the end of this year. Collaboration between governments and industry is vital, he


insisted, and the US has taken a lead in this area. But there are numerous industry bodies – IATA, AEA and A4A (Airlines for America) are among the more obvious – that he believes have a lot of knowledge and opinion to be tapped. For Meijer, a defining moment was the recent visit of Janet


Napolitano, US secretary of homeland security. Taken on a tour of Schiphol, she was impressed with the standard of the facilities there; plus, she specified that “we all need to work together”, as opposed to regulators simply laying down the law. At KLM, the airline is investing in both existing and new,


innovative technologies, and the airport and Dutch authorities have collaborated in the effort to improve equipment involved in security. Much is being done, Meijer conclud- ed, but there is far more to be achieved.


Page 10 16 July 2012


✈


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12