On January 25, 2016, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) sent a directive to US aircraft operators, US all-cargo aircraft operators, foreign air carriers, and foreign all-cargo air carriers requiring that they not bring into the US any cargo that originated or transited through points in Egypt, Syria, Somalia or Yemen; the directive is part of the US Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) efforts to continue enhancing existing Security Directives (SD) and Emergency Amendments (EA).

Under the most recent SDs and EAs, the air carrier is responsible for certifying, based on available documentation, which cargo did not originate or transit through specific regions. Resulting from the revised SDs and EAs, freight forwarders with air cargo operations at non-US locations should expect to see updated requirements for all shipments destined for the US.

The TSA states, “in particular, U.S. aircraft operators, U.S. all-cargo aircraft operators, foreign air carriers, and foreign all-cargo air carriers will be requesting that certain information be provided for all shipments on each Master Air Waybill (MAWB) or House Air Waybill (HAWB) that they accept for transportation from a non-US location to the US.”

Should the air carrier be unable to determine shipment origin or routing point, based upon the available waybill documentation, then the information requested by the carrier “may also include a specific statement (specific language to be provided by the aircraft operator/foreign air carrier) in which the freight forwarder attests that, after reviewing the documentation for each MAWB or HAWB and to the best of its knowledge, the shipment(s) did not originate or transit through the regions identified by the air carrier.”

If you have any additional questions or concerns, please send an email to marketing@anderinger.com. In addition, the TSA encourages the forwarding community to reach out to the Air Carriers for additional guidance.