Air Cargo Advanced Screening (ACAS) Meeting in Chicago

Last week I had the opportunity to attend as a meeting held at United Airlines’ world headquarters in the Willis Tower in Chicago as a member of the NCBFAA as well as on behalf of Camelot.  The meeting was filled with stakeholders from the public and private sector who were discussing the issue of advanced screening of air cargo data in both the courier and traditional air freight channels for international inbound cargo on passenger airlines.

 

This program’s goal is to meet the screening requirements imposed upon the Transportation Security Administration for inbound air cargo.  After the incidents in Yemen in October, 2010, the industry sprang into action and has worked very hard to create an effective pilot program which offers best practices for what will undoubtedly become a regulation within a year or less.

While not a “10 + 2” for air freight, there are many issues which are being discussed including who submits the data, when it needs to be submitted, how cargo that requires additional scrutiny is stopped, flagged or screened appropriately.

Brandon Fried, Executive Director of the Airforwarders Association (Camelot is a member), put together this video summarizing things very effectively, as well as discussing their upcoming conference later next month.