GAO Report: Cargo the Easy Route for Terrorists

Passenger aircraft carry 63% of the 2.37m tonnes of commercial cargo flown out of Britain annually, and airline security analysts agree that only a tiny proportion is physically checked.

The DfT relies instead on the integrity of "known consignors" -freight forwarders who have been checked by independent validators. Anyone can apply for known consignor status -it costs a negotiable £400, and the check takes just two hours. Roger Parsley of the DfT said: "It's hard to say how many known consignors there are at any one time because they come and go."

A British Airways pilot who did not want to be named said: "The possibility of one's aircraft exploding over Newfoundland is a constant worry, especially because the responsibility for security seems to be with the chap packing the goods."

"The problem with airline security is that it's reactive -shoes were never checked before the shoe bomber came along," said Philip Baum, editor of Aviation Security International. "One day, a bomb will go off in cargo; only then will the powers that be react."

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