The European Commission yesterday announced the postponement of the start date for new air cargosecurity rules by a further five weeks, to 29 April 2013, in response to concerns from shipper
representatives that customers were not ready for the changes.New rules, including tougher standards for shippers wishing to register for ‘Known Consigner’status, were originally expected to come into force on 25 March, but the European Shippers’ Council(ESC), together with European manufacturing and retailing companies, lobbied for a delay to theoriginal starting date.
Under the new EU rules, shipper companies wishing to qualify for Known Consigner status arerequired to take specific measures to secure their companies and premises, and to train and providesecurity checks for their employees, whereas until now, less-stringent Known Consignor or KnownShipper rules have been in place in most EU countries. If shippers do not apply these tougherrules, their freight cannot be loaded on board an aircraft without prior extensive screeningmeasures.
While welcoming the postponement of the start date, the ESC said it remained concerned aboutthe implementation of the new Known Consignor programme among shipper companies. It said thatalthough most companies in countries such as the Netherlands and Switzerland already had the KnownConsignor status, this was not the case in many eastern European and southern European countries.
Joost Van Doesburg, Policy Manager for the ESC’s Air Transport Council (ATC), commented: “Even in Germany, Belgium and the Scandinavian countries, the number of certified shipping companiesis below what was expected. The ESC therefore thinks that this anti-terrorism measure could lead toa disturbance in the air cargo supply chain – with consequences for shippers and the air cargoindustry in Europe. Therefore ESC urges all shippers not yet certified for Known Consignor statusto take advantage of this time delay and take the necessary steps to be ready in time for the 29thApril 2013 deadline.”
TNT Express told CEP-Research that it had been preparing for the implementation of the newEuropean regulation on aviation security since 2010. “Internally, we have continued to invest inthe latest screening methods and processes, approved by international, regional and nationalregulations,” said a spokesman. “We have also added new screening capabilities in key locations.”
In addition to this, he said TNT had been communicating with its customers in the EU aboutthe changes and the advantages of being registered as a Known Consignor. “We have provided themwith practical information – for example identification of the appropriate authority – to help themrenew their Known Consignor status or apply for it,” he explained.
He said it was unclear to what extent the five-week delay in the implementation date would behelpful to customers.
“It is really for each customer to decide whether to apply or not,” he said. “The new datemay be useful to some, but we’re not going to generalise. As for TNT Express, we’ve alreadyprepared for the implementation with additional screening equipment and staff to meet customerrequirements.”
A spokeswoman for DHL’s Global Forwarding & Freight (DGF) division said DHL had beenexpecting the postponement, although the company was “well prepared to meet the requirementsprescribed in the EU regulation on air cargo security”.
She added: “With LFS (Luftfrachtsicherheit-Service GmbH), our partner for cargo x-rayscanning and ‘sniffing’, we will sustain the existing air freight export business of DGF Germanyand create growth potential, whilst our service quality with respect to transit times will bemaintained at the high level our customers are used to.”
