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Readers may recall my past blogs about air cargo screening and an upcoming mandate that will have significant ramifications for supply chain efficiency.

When Congress passed the 9/11 Act of 2007, they made law a mandate for all air cargo flown on passenger-carrying planes to be scanned for explosives. The law gave the private sector three years to comply; it will be three years in August.

So where is the private sector vis-à-vis 100 percent air cargo screening readiness? In May, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) ratcheted up the necessary amount of screened cargo to 75 percent. While this deadline appears to have been met, by most accounts, the private sector is still largely behind the curve and not fully prepared for August.

To be sure, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been working closely with the private sector in preparation for the mandate, in part through the Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP). CCSP has been well-received in some industries; certainly, we are closer now to reaching 100 percent screening than before. But there is still much to be done.

To that end, American Airlines Cargo is joining forces with TSA and others for a roundtable on the law and CCSP, which will broadcast live online at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, May 26.

The roundtable will broadcast from the Knight Studio at the Newseum in downtown Washington, DC (the same studio where ABC News’s political news show, “This Week,” is shot).

The forum will bring together public and private sector experts who will discuss how to achieve the 100 percent screening mandate, primarily by leveraging CCSP. Roundtable panelists (some of whom contribute to Security Debrief) include:

Dave Brooks, President, American Airlines Cargo Division
Doug Brittin, General Manager, Air Cargo, TSA
Brandon Fried, Executive Director, Airforwarders Association
Ken Konigsmark, Senior Manager, Supply Chain & Aviation Security Compliance

Jeff Sural (former legislative counsel at TSA and crruently homeland security counsel at Alston and Bird’s Legislative & Public Policy Group) will serve as moderator.

If you’re unfamiliar with the law requiring 100 percent screening, or if you would like to see — and participate in — a forum on how it applies to your business, be sure to watch AA Cargo’s air cargo screening roundtable at 2:00 PM EDT on Wednesday, May 26. Panel participants will take questions from viewers live online during the program.

Editor’s note: American Airlines Cargo is an Adfero client.

Chris Battle founded Security Debrief as a forum for the homeland security community to discuss pressing issues and current debates in national security, counter-terrorism and law enforcement. After a long fight against kidney cancer, Chris passed in August 2013. Read More