On 9th April 2009, there are some major changes being implemented by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in New Zealand that affects the way airfreight shipments on passenger aircraft are handled and processed by airlines, S B Global Logistics and you the exporter.

At present, S B signs a security declaration as a known shipper with the airline that satisfies the current legislation that airlines flying into and out of NZ operate under. If we know you as an exporter, we can sign to say that the shipment is safe and does not contain any explosives, dangerous goods, or anything else that may endanger passengers on the aircraft.

New Zealand is currently behind the rest of the world as far as security and the new rules that are coming into effect on the 9th April this year are bringing us into line with what is already operating in Australia, the US and a number of countries in Europe. There are a number of major changes in the new legislation but a few of the main ones are:

1. S B can no longer act as a known shipper of cargo. We now have to become a Registered Air Cargo Agent (RACA) and the actual exporting company has to be the known shipper. Qantas and Air NZ have advised that they will not accept bookings or shipments from freight forwarders who are not RACA’s.
2. All cargo that will be traveling on a passenger aircraft must be more highly screened before it can be loaded onto the aircraft. This means that in future all cargo must have met one of the following criteria.

1. Be sent from a known shipper
2. Be physically examined to inspect for explosives
3. Be swept with an explosive testing device
4. Each individual piece is x-rayed

We are currently going through the procedures to become a RACA which involve us having new written procedures, fully trained staff, an initial audit followed by two yearly audits which has and will be a significant cost to us but one which we cannot avoid or not undertake.

The big question is what does this mean for you – the exporter. Although you may have been exporting for years, this does not automatically qualify you as a known shipper. To qualify as a known shipper you have to have in place procedures that outline security, and be able to seal the shipment so it can be detected by S B if it has been tampered with prior to being handed to the airline, and be recorded to ensure that what procedures are in place meet the CAA’s requirements. SB as part of our RACA requirements keeps a record of our known shippers and we will be endeavouring to get everyone onto this status – we will be in touch to ensure procedures and costs are kept as minimal as possible. To be a known shipper, the CAA has advised the following has to occur:

1. The known shipper has knowledge of security matters relating to the new requirements.
2. The known shipper has appropriate systems and procedures in place for ensuring that:

1. Only the intended items of cargo are contained in the customers consignment that is forwarded to the freight forwarder for carriage
2. Every consignment of cargo is accompanied by a statement of content that can be identified as originating from the known shipper
3. Every consignment is protected in a manner that enables the freight forwarder to readily identify whether the consignment has been tampered with (individualized tap may be enough (this will be advised)
4. The cargo is not tampered with when sent by the known shipper to the freight forwarder.

The new requirements also affect trucking and collection of cargo. Our truck drivers will be certified / trained and as our trucks are covered they will be fine to still collect cargo and provide protection. If you as the shipper have your own trucking company and they use flat deck or open trucks, this may cause problems as they cannot guarantee the security of the shipment on an open truck.

You can operate as an exporter and not be a known shipper. The ground handling agents at Christchurch airport have advised they are purchasing an x-ray machine and we can simply have your shipments x-rayed before they are loaded on the aircraft. At this stage we have not been advised what or how this will be handled but it will mean some or all or the following:

• Earlier cut offs for flights (at present we have to present shipments to the airlines three hours before the plane departs. This may be extended to allow time for the x-raying of shipments)
• Shipments not able to be sent in units. Unless all shippers that are being loaded into the airline unit are known shippers, we will not be able to load an airline unit and present this to the airline, thus the loose handling fee from Australia will be applicable to all shipments.
• Additional costs – the ground handling agents will definitely be charging to x-ray the shipments but we have not been advised how they will charge or how much this will be. (if fro a known shipper the shipment does not have to be x-rayed).

Or alternatively we can physically inspect all cartons before the shipment is handed to the airline to ensure no explosives are present.

To see the full detail on the new requirements for RACA’s please use the link to the CAA website below:

http://www.caa.govt.nz/Air_Cargo/Air_Cargo.htm

Further details will follow and S B will be in touch with more information over the coming months to ensure you are fully informed of what is required and what new procedures will apply to ensure minimal changes are required and costs are kept to a minimum at all times.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact your account manager, Reon Edwards Ph: 358 0896 or Nick Lye Ph: 358 0625