The chair of the new UPU inter-committee security group says work is progressing well in gathering data to create a new security model for the safe transportation of mail by air.
Set up in April, the group gathers postal representatives from all over the world as well as aviation, customs, standards, trade and security organizations, including the United States’ Transportation Security Agency (TSA). The group, which recently met for a second time at UPU headquarters in Berne, aims to harmonize global postal security standards to ensure that international mail can keep moving smoothly in a world where air security is constantly heightened.
Chairman Ebbe Andersen, from Post Danmark, says the group’s work plan is on schedule. “Our challenge is to better understand how international mail operations work in different countries,” said Andersen. “How is international mail inducted in the network? How is it transported? What security measures are applied? We are looking for the gaps in order to find a common solution, as new security measures introduced will have an impact on all postal operators.”
The group will present a draft framework to the UPU Council of Administration and Postal Operations Council before seeking formal adoption at the UPU Congress in 2012.
Once a model is developed, the group wants to test it through a pilot project, Andersen explained. “A pilot with the airlines will be key to see if it works.”
Harmonization critical
The UPU believes a postal security model dealing with the specificities of international mail sent on commercial and cargo airlines is needed. This would avoid security measures developed and imposed by individual countries or administrations wreaking havoc on international mail transportation.
New security rules introduced last year by the TSA led many Posts to stop or delay sending US-bound mail for several months. Some mail is still being delayed, but the situation has improved over the past few months thanks to UPU talks with the TSA.
The UPU wants to avoid similar situations in future, knowing that other countries as well as the European Union are working on their own air transportation security measures. While all regulations aim to increase security, says Andersen, harmonization is critical.