Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-MA), the Subcommittee on Security’s ranking member, recently held a hearing in Boston on the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) implementation of a scanning and screening mandate for all air cargo transported on passenger aircraft.
“Prior to my law, almost all of the air cargo that we load onto passenger planes was not scanned for liquid, plastic, or conventional explosives,” Markey said. “It was a glaring loophole in our aviation security system just waiting to be exploited, and I am proud to have closed it. But vigilance must be our watchword on aviation security. I will continue to fight to increase the use of scanners in both air cargo and passenger baggage security. We must continually assess the challenges we face in deploying the latest and greatest cargo screening technologies, as well as how TSA’s strained budget may be impacting its ability to oversee air cargo security.”
Markey secured language in the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 that required the TSA to establish a system for screening 100 percent of all air cargo transported on passenger aircraft by 2010.
The hearing also discussed the cybersecurity of increasingly computerized aviation systems, the danger that drones flying near airports pose to airplanes, and passenger and baggage screening systems.