Regulated agent and known consignor in air transport
Air freight transport must be secure to avoid unlawful interference such as attacks or terrorist attacks. For this reason, regulations have been drawn up worldwide to provide security guidelines that all links in the air logistics chain must comply with, from manufacturers and exporters to transport operators, airlines, handling companies and freight forwarders. In this context, the figures of accredited agent and known consignor in air transport are born.
Context of air transport safety in the world
Over the last two decades, air transport has suffered different types of attacks, such as the attack on the twin towers in New York in 2001. These and other incidents have led to an increase in the standards that regulate civil aviation security and have become stricter and stricter.
In this regard, organizations such as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which belongs to the United Nations, is the entity in charge of addressing the needs of countries and the airline industry in terms of aviation security.
And, to this end, there is the ICAO’s Global Aviation Security Plan (GASeP) which sets out those internationally agreed actions, tasks and objectives that aviation and air transport must meet.
In addition, ICAO has an Aviation Security Policy (ASP) section, which is responsible for developing standards and methods for international air transport security.
On the other hand, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) also establishes safety and security priorities, in this case for the airlines that are members of this organization.
Finally, at the European Union level, since 2020, the European Commission has established a set of common standards in the field of civil aviation security aimed at protecting people and goods from unlawful interference.
The aim of all these organizations is to develop and disseminate regulations governing civil aviation and thereby protect passengers, crews, aircraft, cargo and airport infrastructure from attacks, attacks and other violent actions.
Air cargo security: the regulated agent and the known consignor
In terms of air cargo security, Spain’s State Aviation Safety Agency (AESA), among other things, defines the figures of the accredited agent and the known consignor with the aim of ensuring that air cargo is adequately protected against unauthorized interference, in addition to knowing where it is at each stage in order to establish specific responsibilities in its chain of custody.
In this area, EASA created AVSEC CARGO, a portal whose purpose is to help all links in the air transport chain (airlines, airport managers, handling agents, logistics operators, exporters, manufacturers, etc.) to understand and comply with the fundamental principles of air cargo security.
For this reason, the two essential figures in air cargo transport are established and defined: the regulated agent and the known consignor.
What is a regulated air cargo agent (RACA)?
The accredited agent, recognized by the acronym RACA, is the entity in charge of handling and securing air cargo and, therefore, must comply with all the obligations set out in the National Security Program for Civil Aviation (PNS), which was approved in Spain in 2006.
The air cargo accredited agent is the one who must apply the security controls and, therefore, are the airlines, cargo and mail ground handling agents, logistics operators, freight forwarders, as well as other companies that are responsible for storage services and transportation of goods.
What is a Known Consignor (KC)?
The known consignor, recognized with the acronym KC and a figure that came into force in 2013, is the one who originates or acknowledges the air cargo or air mail on his own account, which is why he must also comply with safety regulations and standards so that the goods can be transported on any aircraft.
Who designates known consignors?
The known consignor may be the originator of the goods on its own account (manufacturer, exporter), the company at whose premises the goods are prepared for transport (logistics operator, freight forwarder, warehouseman) or the company at whose premises the goods are recognized as air cargo (handling operators, for example).
Advantages enjoyed by operators with known shipper accreditation
Operators with known consignor accreditation can benefit from certain advantages such as, for example, avoiding being subject to 100% physical inspections, saving the costs associated with inspections, having international recognition as a known consignor, or being able to integrate this accreditation with other certifications, protocols and management systems.
In the air cargo transport chain, goods coming from a known consignor must be validated by an accredited agent, who will determine the level of security to
be given to the shipment and, therefore, when the goods are in his custody, he must carry out the security controls he deems appropriate and in accordance with the regulations to protect the shipment against possible illegal interference (sabotage, attacks and terrorist acts).
In other words, if a shipment has been prepared in a secure environment and the known shipper ensures that the cargo has not undergone any change or tampering until arrival and acceptance at the airport, the need for further inspections with, for example, X-ray equipment, hand searches, or explosives-trained canine units is minimized.
In short, the goods to be transported by air must have been prepared in a secure manner and the cargo must be “known”, in the sense that it comes from a known shipper.
If the cargo does not come from a known shipper, but has documentation that it has undergone security screening or registration, it may also be classified as known cargo.
Consequently, if the merchandise comes from an unknown company or it cannot be proven that it has undergone security inspection, the cargo must be rejected and must not be transported.
For all these reasons, the RAKC (Regulated Agent and Known Consignor) regime was created at the time, a model in which all the links involved in the air logistics chain are considered secure.
As part of a secure chain, regulated agents and known consignors assume their responsibilities in terms of security, from the design of their facilities, to their services and transport vehicles, to the selection and training of their employees and carriers, to the packaging and packing of goods.
The advantages of defining a RAKC chain are that it accelerates the processes in the transaction of shipments; there is a cost saving in the application of direct inspection methods, and it favors the identification of logistic and administrative efficiency indicators for those operators that are adhered to this program.
In this sense, Cargo Flores is an IATA agent and, therefore, a forwarding company considered reliable for the air transport of goods, authorized and regulated by this International Air Transport Association.
This recognition allows it to issue documentation on behalf of airlines, coordinate airport loading and unloading and expedite customs procedures, which contributes to reducing transit times and handling, inspection and transportation costs in the foreign trade logistics chain.
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