Zoom
zoom . . . Flight attendants from Bahrain's
Gulf Air watch and are watched as the driver's parade (prior to the
start of the Formula One Grand Prix) at the Bahrain International Circuit
in Sakhir began earlier this month.
Meantime ICAO and the WCO will convene
their second Joint Conference on Enhancing Air Cargo Security and Facilitation
that starts today (16 & 17) in Manama, Bahrain.
Participants in Bahrain will focus on
ways to further improve cooperation between authorities and with industry
in order to strengthen aviation and border security while facilitating
the flow of cargo.
Bahrain
Exclusive—This week Issa Baluch planned to
devote at least the first few days of his Spring Break (off from his
teaching duties at Harvard University in Boston) to travel to the ICAO/WTO
meetings.
But alas, struck down with a cruel flu
tht has left him speechless, the “Enhancing Air Cargo Security
and Facilitation,” panel that tips off Wednesday morning will
have to settle with Mr. Baluch, who serves as a Member of the Board
for the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations
(FIATA) discussing his view of an integrated cargo system to facilitate
the safe and secure transport of goods by air, in these pages, whilst
recovering.
“The entire program and the topic
of the conference is quite explicit and the fact that industry stakeholders
are coming under one roof to discuss Air Cargo Security and its facilitation
is quite an impressive effort to say the least.
“These open and frank discussions
with colleagues get to the positives of what is at stake for the entire
industry, but also focus and deal with the negatives, in particular
the roadblocks that continue to stand in the way of getting the industry
on the same page, and that must be addressed.
“I propose that from Bahrain, at
the minimum, a comittment should emerge from all in attendance to work
toward a Universal Declaration of Air Cargo Security Procedures,”
Issa Baluch declared.
“In 2014 it is long past the time
that air cargo security be given maximum attention by WCO/ICAO in concert
with others including FIATA, IATA, and TIACA.”
“The time for positive action is
at hand.
“Much is expected and needs to be
done toward progress in security,” Professor Issa said.
This most important kick-off panel in
Bahrain also includes The International Air Cargo Association’s
Doug Brittin.
We caught up with Mr. Brittin in between
flights enroute to the Gulf where, without Mr. Baluch, Doug may just
get some additional air time.
Doug Brittin has more than the usual set
of chops when it comes to air cargo security as he moved to his private
sector job as secretary general at TIACA from a high profile position
at the U.S. Transport Security Administration (TSA), where he served
as air cargo manager.
Brittin can be remembered at TSA as somebody
who delt in an even measured and always reasonable and sane manner despite
the avalanche of edicts and directives that erupted from Homeland Security
during the post-911 era.
Doug was always cool under fire, a “Mohair
Sam” who smoothed the waters even in a room full of Jumping Jacks.
Air cargo has a rare opportunity in Bahrain
this week to kick air cargo security up a notch in procedure and complaince.
A “Great Brittin” from the
USA is a voice to be heard and listened to carefully.
“The panels this week in Bahrain
will provide an excellent opportunity for a robust mix of industry members,
regulators, associations, and others to engage in a healthy discussion
about the issues that will have an impact on the industry,” Doug
Brittin said.
“It is a tremendous forum in which
to hear the challenges involved, from multiple perspectives and, more
importantly, identify paths toward solid solutions which will continue
to enhance security while ensuring the well-being of our industry,”
Mr. Brittin said.
“Of course we always work from the
perspective of the importance of security.
“It is a fact of life, and we all recognize it has a cost.
“Therefore, anything that we can
do collectively to manage that cost, eliminate duplicative programs,
and increase the adoption of global standards and protocols for cargo
and mail will be viewed positively.”
We wonder if one result from Bahrain this
week might indeed be a universal declaration of air cargo security as
a possibility emerging from this group, to which Mr. Brittin replied:
“I think we all wish to see progress
toward the standards I mentioned.
“It is particularly pleasing to
see such high level cooperation between ICAO, WCO, and the UPU at this
conference, and the strong support from regulators and industry.
“We all want to move toward ‘Acta
non verba’ in many areas, but in particular in regard to the various
advance data regimes.
“We have the opportunity to take
a very solid concept (risk-based analysis for air cargo screening),
and come up with a truly global solution that satisfies both Customs
and Civil Aviation needs, and which is within the operational capability
of industry.
“We all want to do it right,”
Mr. Britton declared.
Geoffrey/Flossie
