U.S. air cargo security lacking

"100 percent screening of passengers gives travelers a false sense of security when only a tiny fraction of cargo in the belly of the plane is checked," Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey is reported to have said in a Reuters story Wednesday. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a study finding the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) should complete an assessment of air cargo vulnerabilities and federal action was needed to strengthen the security of domestic air cargo.

In 2004, the report found, an estimated 23 billion pounds of air cargo was transported within the United States, 25 percent transported on passenger aircraft. However, it was concluded though TSA took a number of actions intended to strengthen air cargo security, "factors exist that may limit their effectiveness."

TSA has not developed measures to assess the adequacy of air carrier and indirect air carrier compliance, systematically analyzed these audit results to target future inspections, or assessed the effectiveness of its enforcement actions to ensure compliance with air cargo security requirements.

Aviation Security: Federal Action Needed to Strengthen Domestic Air Cargo Security, GAO-06-76.
    Full Report (PDF, 1.4MB, 94p.)
    Highlights (PDF, 84KB, 1p.)
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