Alterations of the Aviation Security Act

The alterations of the Aviation Security Act, which has translated the EU regulation (EU-VO 2320/2002) into national law, already came into effect on February 1, 2006.

These introduce a new aspect for the air freight sector: the status of the Regulated Agent (RA). In the act the RA is described as:

''Agencies, forwarders or other legal entities which

- Employ properly recruited and trained personnel
- Are registered by the Federal Aviation Authority (the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt – LBA) in accordance with VO (EC) No. 2320/2002
- Carry out aviation security measures accepted or stipulated by the appropriate Federal Aviation Authority in accordance with Section 9 of the Aviation Security Act
- Maintain a business relationship with an aviation company.''

With effect from February 11, 2008 the LBA approved the application submitted by EgeTrans GmbH for approved status as a RA under DE.RAC.0344. According to German Administrative Proceedings Law (the Verwaltungsverfahrensgesetz - VwVfG), the approval was granted for two years and is valid until February 10, 2010. The LBA has published a list of all approved RA's on its website. (www.lba.de (click English language) - Information for Regulated Agents - List of Regulated Agents)

With its application from June 16, 2006, EgeTrans has implemented a range of requirements and measures both operational and administrative. These include not only the drawing up of the aviation security plan, but also the appointment and external training of security officers, additional security training programs for all operative staff as well as the introduction of diverse technical security measures at the EgeTrans office and its business partners. The latter including the protection of freight against manipulation as soon as it is in the possession of one of our business partners and the performance of spot check inspections of the air freight being transported as regulated in EU-VO 2320/2002. This shows that the fulfillment of the security requirements entails greater costs for the air freight process. As a result, EgeTrans GmbH has been forced to implement a charge for these increased costs from August 1, 2006 on in the form of a so-called Regulated-Agent-Fee (RA-Fee), totaling EUR 8.00 per consignment.

Nevertheless, the approval as an RA is a sensible step and also an advantage for the customer as only regulated agents such as EgeTrans GmbH can accept their air-freight customers as so-called ''Known Consignor'' (KC). This is important regarding the routing time of the freight. As soon as a corresponding declaration on the part of the customer has been received, EgeTrans can treat the consignment as ''known freight''. This means that – with the exception of spot-checks – no additional technical inspection measures are required and there will not be any more delays. In handling the freight of unknown consignors EgeTrans is obliged to conduct the security checks prescribed by the LBA. These require the freight to be either:

- Checked by hand or physically checked or
- Scanned by x-ray or
- Checked in a pressure chamber or
- Checked using other technical or bio-sensory means (e.g. tracker dogs, detectors, certified explosive tracker dogs etc.).

These procedures cannot only lead to a time delay in loading the consignment but also cause additional costs which are passed on to the customer.

This registration requires EgeTrans air-freight customers to sign a ''Security Declaration of the Known Consignor'' issued by the LBA. Here, the LBA recognizes solely such security declarations that are accepted unaltered. You will be able to download a copy of the declaration on our homepage.