Reaction to terror attacks hitting air cargo firms

Date: 27/06/02

AIR cargo firms say governments' 'knee-jerk reactions' to the 11 September attacks have hurt the sector even though the security-conscious industry has never fallen victim to a terrorist attack.

Jaap Mulders, chairman of the European Express Association, a group of Europe-based express delivery firms including the US's United Parcel Service and Holland's TPG, said cargo companies had taken a similar hit from regulators to one they suffered after the Lockerbie tragedy 12 years ago.

He said Lockerbie 'marked a defining point in realistic aviation security'.

He added that 'knee-jerk reaction to this major incident severely impacted' industry.

But, 12 years on, Mulders said all cargo express air operators still face a hotch-potch of regulations which do not take into account the low levels of threat to the sector, nor its self regulation designed to weed-out potential terror attacks.

He said the situation is unlikely to improve much in most world markets - despite EU efforts to set harmonised safety rules for the sector.

'Realistically,' Mulders said, firms will be 'operating within non-harmonised, non-threat assessed regulatory regimes, and subjected to industrial and network disruption every time that an aviation terrorist incident occurs which is targeted at a passenger carrying aircraft.'

Air cargo firms say governments' 'knee-jerk reactions' to the 11 September 2001 attacks have hurt the sector even though the security-conscious industry has never fallen victim to a terrorist attack.