This initiative requires the submission of advanced air cargo information on shipments arriving in the US from a foreign location. Up until now this has been a voluntary process, in which many airlines participated. However, the programme requirements are now mandatory for any airline flying to the US. The Department of Homeland Security sees this as a vital measure to ensure aviation security on a worldwide basis.
As part of the ACAS program, participating carriers have to submit a subset of required pre-arrival air cargo data to Customs and Border Protection at the earliest point practicable and prior to loading the cargo on to an aircraft destined for or transiting through the US.
Customs and Border Protection has said that it will apply penalties to any organisations that violate the new requirements. However, it has added that it will take a common sense approach that includes an amnesty for unintentional violations during the first year of the new programme.