23 May 2002

Governments should help meet increased security costs argues Conference speaker.

Governments should help meet new express industry security costs argues World Mail & Express Europe Conference speaker.

Governments should help to meet the substantial additional costs likely to be incurred by the international express industry as it moves to comply with new European aviation security regulations scheduled for implementation next year.

'Terrorism is directed at a state, it is not generally directed at the service industries of civil aviation,' argued John Goldsworthy, chairman of the European Express Association (EEA) Security Committee, when he addressed last week's (May 14/15) annual World Mail & Express Europe Conference in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, organised by UK-based Triangle Management Services.

'The EEA fully supports the concept of air cargo security regulation. However, it does not support the governmental view that the costs of all security measures should be borne by industry,' he added.

Earlier, Goldsworthy had told the conference that the European Council of Ministers had been due to ratify draft legislation covering new European Union (EU) aviation security measures on May 24, with the sections covering cargo, express, courier and mail activities scheduled to become effective from January 1, 2003.

However, he explained, the European Parliament was taking longer than originally anticipated to approve the plans so that timetable looked set to slip. 'I think implementation will end up being phased in throughout 2003,' he said.

Whatever the precise timing, though, warned Goldsworthy, the European express industry faced 'quite high' additional costs once the roll-out of the new security measures got under way. For example:

1. According to EEA estimates, some 150,000 staff in Europe would require formalised air cargo security training.

2. Physical security for operational sites, airports, aircraft and airside handling of goods would have to be changed to comply with the new security requirements.

3. Physical screening costs both in terms of manpower and the purchasing of technology would be high, with some smaller companies lacking the necessary resources having to employ third party service providers.

4. Staff vetting would be required although it was not currently clear whether that would relate just to new staff or also be required for existing personnel and for sub-contractors.

Another complication, pointed out Goldsworthy, was that the new regulations eventually introduced by the EU would only provide a base level requirement. 'It is not going to stop individual nation states requiring more stringent measures', he warned. 'So we again get into the field of non-harmonisation, with 15 regulated air cargo security programmes throughout Europe.'

Summing up, Goldsworthy said the EEA accepted the express industry should bear base level costs relating to security. However, where governments insisted on applying more stringent measures, then the latter should certainly be looking to pick up the associated additional costs.

'In the current aviation security programmes in the US, the government is giving its own airlines billions of dollars. In the EU, it looks like we will get nothing,' he concluded.

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For more information about the conference contact Chrissie Schuler on +44 (0)870 950 7900 .
 

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