TSA: Now Hear This

Two years ago while attending an air cargo conference in New Orleans I was struck by the attitude of attendees toward the Transportation Security Administration. Instead of the growing animosity toward TSA that seemed to be pervasive at many industry gatherings, the attitude among the cargo group seemed to be more collaborative. A very active industry working group was integrally involved in making recommendations for TSA’s final air cargo security rule, which was released last week. This comes to mind primarily due to a phone interview on Friday with Pam Hamilton, who heads up the air cargo division for TSA. The final rule is expected to be published (probably this week) in the Federal Register. According to Hamilton, the rule is “a very, very important milestone†for a number of reasons: the creation of a centralized known shipper management system; background checks for the freight forwarder workforce; and, the creation of standardized training guidelines, soon to come from the agency. From this chair, most significant – besides the actual rule being released – was the fact that this phone interview took place at all. It has been a tough row to hoe getting TSA officials to speak with the press since the agency was created in 2001. Hamilton and her group have been saying for some time now that they want to work harder at getting their message out. Apparently, she meant it. We welcome the change. Thanks for reading. jfi