The German interior minister has stepped up his criticism of international air cargo securityprocedures and called for new Europe-wide rules following a visit yesterday to the UPS air hub at
Cologne/Bonn airport where one of the two ‘parcel bombs’ passed through before being discovered inthe UK.Air cargo shipments currently undergo relatively few checks compared to passengers, interiorminister Thomas de Maizière stated. “This has obviously been recognised and taken advantage of,” hedeclared. “This must have consequences for freight transport.” But purely national regulations madeno sense for international air cargo, he said. Europe needed a common security solution for aircargo shipments. One priority was to ensure the reliability of security checks at airports outsideEurope, he added.
“The system functions by relying on secure departure airports,” the interior minister said.Outbound shipments from Germany, for example, were x-rayed before being flown to other countries.But it was impossible for German airports to check all the transit cargo from other countries thatonly passed briefly through the country due to the sheer amount. The international supply chainwould break down if all shipments were scanned, he commented.
At Cologne/Bonn, the minister toured the UPS air hub with senior managers and was informed aboutthe company’s security measures there. According to German media, one of the two parcel bombs wasflown on a UPS flight from the Middle East to Cologne, passed through the sorting system and wasthen loaded on a flight to Britain. The bomb was secured at East Midlands Airport after Germanauthorities, who were too late to stop the flight from Cologne, passed on a tip from Saudi Arabiato their British colleagues.
De Maizière said that Germany had not been the direct target of the parcel bomb that passedthrough Cologne since it was difficult to know the transportation route of air cargo shipments inadvance, but he reiterated that the country remained under threat from terrorists like othercountries, too.
German government spokesman Steffen Seibert announced that the government is already lookinginto stepping up controls on air cargo. A working group with representatives of the foreign office,transport and interior ministries as well as security experts had been set up, he said.
Germany is also considering a ban on air cargo shipments not only from Yemen but also othercountries, he added. The government aims to work closely with the EU and the US government in thisarea, he said.
