Pistole, who reiterated airfreight's vulnerability to a terrorist attack, believes the ability to provide shipment-level data prior to takeoff will help the airfreight industry mitigate risk.

"The more intelligence that we can have on the front end, the better informed judgments we can make as to distinguish between known shippers and shipments by those who are unknown," Pistole told conference attendees. "If we can make decisions on the front end [about a particular parcel], then we can do a better job of working together to [block it from the flight]."

Some insiders believe the ACAS pilot program could be the industry's answer to meeting the TSA's goal of 100-percent screening of U.S.-bound freight. A three-phased, voluntary initiative, ACAS allows parties to submit electronic data about a parcel prior to shipment; that way, high-risk freight can be identified, according to a press release issued by the TSA.

Source: Air Cargo World