Making cargo more secure is increasingly important and as such the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has introduced a program called Secure Freight. The program was created by IATA to "promote global security standards to facilitate safe, secure and efficient operations of air cargo".
IATA' Secure Freight offers assistance through the creation of templates, documents, and best practices to assist in securing the supply chain. It is especially relevant for countries where supply chain processes do not exist or require enhancements. IATA have identified four priorities that will make cargo more secure; closer cooperation between the individual stakeholders, harmonization and convergence of regulations, mutual support among governments, and long-term commitment from governments.
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I am always concerned about flying back from Eastern Europe to the US when I see some of the cargo being loaded and wondering if it was checked, or x-rayed. I used to see live tropical fish being loaded every week when I lived in Sarasota, so I wonder what they put aboard when I fly out of Kiev or Budapest.
Securing freight must be the number one priority for freight airlines. It is so important that I hope that they are working on making their flights the safest.
This seems like a very good idea. IATA is a good organization and I am sure they can work with most governments to provide a level of security on flights.
If freight is x-rayed and been through the normal checking process then there should be no issues. There are a few countries that have some flaky procedures, but in the most part, its pretty safe.
Sounds like IATA are making some good progress, but there are many governements out there that just don’t want to be told what to do and will also be loose with regulations and agreements. I was flying from Rome to Athens and we had to turn back to Rome as the freight on the plane was not supposed to be going to Athens….now that made me very worried.
Every time I get on a plane I wonder what is in the hold. You sit there and watch all those boxes go on and pray that they have been scanned and x-rayed.