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TSA Increases Cargo Screening on Intl Inbound Passenger Aircraft (Schedules CCSP Events)

Effective May 1, 2010, the Transportation Security Administration increased the percentages of cargo that must be screened prior to being loaded on U.S. and foreign flag passenger aircraft inbound into the U.S.

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While the screening percentages are Sensitive Security Information (SSI), TSA notes that it is not yet requiring 100% screening levels. The Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Act of 2007 stipulated that the industry must have attained 50% screening by February 2009, and 100% screening by August 1, 2010, for cargo on domestic (including outbound) and inbound (foreign) passenger aircraft.

TSA Says 100% Screening for Int’l Inbound by August 2010 Not Possible

TSA officials have recently stated that its goal of screening 50% of all cargo on passenger aircraft and 100% of all cargo on narrow body passenger aircraft has been achieved, and that TSA was confident that it would achieve 100% screening of all domestic cargo by the August deadline. However, officials stated that 100% screening by August of inbound (foreign) cargo could not be met. They added that TSA was working with the supply chain to encourage maximum participation in the Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP).

(TSA had also proposed requiring passenger air carriers to increase the level of screening for air cargo uplifted in the U.S. from 50 to 75 percent by May 1, 2010.)

TSA Announces CCSP Webinars and Town Hall Meetings

TSA has also posted information on upcoming webinars and Town Hall meetings on the Certified Cargo Screening Program.

(The CCSP is a voluntary program designed to assist industry in achieving the 100% screening requirement. The program is designed to enable TSA vetted, validated, and certified facilities to screen air cargo prior to delivering the cargo to the air carrier. Any facility that is a regulated party or which tenders cargo directly to a regulated party (air carrier or indirect air carrier) may apply to become a Certified Cargo Screening Facility (CCSF) and be part of the CCSP.)

CCSP webinars will be held on May 13, 2010 and June 10, 2010. CCSP Town Hall meetings will be held in Minneapolis (May 19, 2010), Chicago (June 2, 2010), and Los Angeles (June 16, 2010).

(Town Hall meetings were already held in Dallas (April 21, 2010) and San Jose, CA (April 28, 2010)

For more information regarding the upcoming meetings or webinars, contact ccsp@dhs.gov.

TSA announcement (undated) available at http://www.tsa.gov/assets/pdf/international_inbound_screening_requirement.pdf