Australia has joined the US and Canada in introducing heightened security measures for air cargo originating from Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries.
Starting September 26, cargo bound for Australia on passenger flights must only be tendered by shippers with whom forwarders have an Established Business Relationship (EBR), according to a Special Security Direction from the Department of Home Affairs.
The directive affects cargo from 55 countries, primarily in Europe and the CIS region.
The UK’s British International Freight Association (BIFA) advised that while carriers are adopting similar measures, there are variations in their approaches.
BIFA urged forwarders to clarify individual carrier requirements.
Airlines such as IAG have stipulated that all cargo tendered for passenger flights must come from EBR-compliant shippers.
Stéphane Parrenin, of the International Forwarders and Customs Brokers Association of Australia (IFCBAA), explained that air cargo from these 55 countries exceeding 500g and lodged by unknown senders will not be allowed on passenger aircraft to or through Australia.
However, such cargo may still be shipped on freighters, provided it passes additional security checks.
The new Australian security rules mirror similar measures in the US and Canada, which followed reports of incendiary devices being discovered in European parcel networks.
These stricter measures have raised concerns within the freight forwarding industry, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the affected regions.
Global forwarder association FIATA warned of the operational challenges posed by these new regulations, especially for smaller shippers.
The US Airforwarders Association (AfA) has also acknowledged the difficulty in meeting the increased data and security requirements.
“The evolving air cargo security landscape presents new challenges,” said AfA executive director Brandon Fried, emphasizing the complexity of implementing the new procedures and obtaining the additional information required by the regulations.
