Lufthansa Cargo throws the book at security wastage
05 / 03 / 2015
LUFTHANSA Cargo has demanded no double-screening of air cargo shipments, when stringent new international security regulations come into force in a matter of weeks.
In a plea for a more efficient air cargo screening process, Karl-Rudolf Rupprecht, head of operations at the German airline, says the forthcoming implementation of the EU’s Air Cargo Carrier Third Country (ACC3) regulation, which is aimed at ensuring a uniform security level through validations of non-EU airports in a closed-process chain, “is a major step towards making worldwide air cargo transport even more secure.”
But although Lufthansa Cargo is well prepared for implementation from July, and first validations of non-EU stations are already in progress, in some areas of implementation there is still a need for political action, he diplomatically points out.
With some areas [nations] not prepared for the regulations, there will be a need for wasteful double-screening.
“Any additional transfer screening will be a step backwards,” says Rupprecht. “Every air cargo shipment needs to be secured reliably before being taken on board [an aircraft] for the first time,” he advises. “Transfer [secondary] screening only causes higher costs and longer transit times – without increasing security.”
Lufthansa Cargo has published a new Air Cargo Security Manual to help logistics professionals keep abreast of the increasingly complex field of air cargo security.
Co-authored by researchers Professors Elmar Giemulla and Bastian Rothe, and Harald Zielinski, Lufthansa Cargo’s chief security officer, the manual is the first such air cargo industry work dedicated to the subject of security.
The airline hopes it will serve as a new reference tool, offering orientation and delivering clear facts and information on current security requirements and processes.
“As an airline, we want to offer the entire logistics industry a real added value and contribute to a safe and efficient transport of air cargo,” says Zielinski.
A digital version of the manual is constantly updated. It is available directly from Lufthansa Cargo.
