Forwarders and carriers to fight crime

TERRORISM: Asia-Pacific region air cargo organisations have received several reminders from other parts of the world over the past few weeks that security, both against potential terrorist operations and criminal activities, remains a key issue for the industry as a whole.

Last month, for example, members of a UK nuclear disarmament group called Trident Ploughshares breached security at Glasgow Prestwick Airport in Scotland, a stopover point for US freighters carrying military supplies to the Middle East. Activists twice succeeded in getting on board aircraft in a search for evidence of weapons being shipped to Israel before being arrested.

Around the same time, the European Commission (EC) announced it had adopted a report on the financing of general security measures in the aviation and maritime sectors, which included the decision that the protection of European citizens against terrorist attacks was essentially a state responsibility and that public financing of aviation security measures did not constitute state aid.