German air carrier Lufthansa says its cargo unit has acquired 19 Smiths Detection IONSCAN 500DT benchtop dual trace explosives detectors for all of its airport locations in the U.S. as the company expands its security measures to comply with a new phase of federal air cargo screening requirements that goes into effect in February.
This initial purchase will help Lufthansa satisfy the 50 percent screening requirement planned for early next year, James Lobello, directors of Security for Lufthansa Cargo in the Americas, tells TR2. Lufhthansa “won’t stop there,” he says, and may also acquire the new Advanced Technology X-Ray systems as well.
Lufthansa said it paid in the single-digit million Euros for the 500DTs. Smiths puts the price of the explosives detectors at about $50,000 each.
Under congressional legislation, 50 percent of cargo transported on passenger aircraft within the U.S. must be screened for explosives starting next February. By August 2010, 100 percent of cargo on passenger aircraft within the U.S. must be screened for explosives.
Ultimately, the air carriers are responsible for ensuring the cargo is screened before it goes on their aircraft. Currently the air carriers already screen a portion of the cargo that goes on aircraft in order to meet classified screening requirements.
To better meet the pending congressional mandates, and to alleviate some of the pressure on the air carriers, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is exploring other approaches to cargo screening, in particular having freight consolidators carry some of the load. With this in mind TSA started the Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP) to initiate pilot tests this year to have Indirect Air Carriers (IACs)–who consolidate freight prior to shipping it to an air carrier at the airport–screen some cargo at their warehouses (TR2, Jan. 29, 2008).
Lobello says that at least for Lufthansa, having the IACs screen some of the cargo will be a “good start” but the air carriers can’t be sure that the CCSP program will be fully in place in time for the screening deadlines, not to mention the fact that many of the smaller freight consolidators may not be able to afford the screening equipment.
“So a lot of the screening will be left to us,” Lobello says.
Lufthansa already has X-Ray machines and Smiths IONSCAN 400B trace detectors at some of its stations in the U.S., Lobello says. He says the current classified screening requirements work well although the pending 50 percent and 100 percent screening mandates “will create some challenges for us. We’re trying to stay ahead of the curve.”
Smiths’ 500DT was recently placed on TSA’s Qualified Products List, just as the 400B is. General Electric‘s [GE] Itemiser trace detector is also on the QPL. The Lufthansa order is one of the first for the 500DT, Mark Laustra, vice president of Homeland Security for Smiths Detection, tells TR2.
Laustra says that Smiths has been selling the 400Bs to most of the air carriers the past two years as part of their security measures for existing and pending screening requirements.
The trace detectors are the same ones that many airline passengers have seen in lobbies and checkpoints at many U.S. airports for the screening of both checked and carry-on bags. While they may be labor intensive, Laustra says they still represent a relatively low cost solution for screening air cargo. Plus, he adds, they are just one component of a multi-layered approach to security.
Air carriers and IACs would like technology that can screen entire pallets of cargo but the Department of Homeland Security maintains that systems currently designed to do this aren’t sufficient. Laustra says that DHS and TSA are testing various technologies, including Smiths’ systems that can screen cargo loaded on pallets and skids.
Not having the ability to screen entire pallets of cargo means that air carriers and IACs must screen the cargo when it’s in a break-bulk form, which is basically box-by-box. Lufthansa’s Lobello says the majority of the cargo coming to his airline is loose anyway.
Laustra says that Smiths is going through the rounds of educating its existing customers and prospects about the company’s “soup-to-nuts” solution set, which ranges from hand- held trace detectors all the way through palletized-screening systems with benchtop trace detectors and AT X-Ray machines in between.
“We think there’s a place for at least one or two of those pieces of equipment at a cargo facility,” Laustra says.
For the IACs, much of it will depend on a particular facility. Consolidators with less space may not be able to accommodate an X-Ray machine so a handheld or benchtop device might be ideal, Laustra says.
“So we’re talking to the IACs about what they anticipate their CONOPS (Concept of Operations) being,” Laustra says. “That’s going to be the tricky part, for them to put together a security plan.”