The agreement will provide explosive detection canine screening of air cargo for the parcels specialist. In fact, this partnership has grown from a pilot that dates to 2016, which anticipated the Transportation Security Administration’s Third-Party Canine (3PK9) programme. It is now in its third successful year.
With approximately 80m cargo tonnes of cargo shipped annually, the aviation industry faces significant threats from explosives. Because of this, the TSA, cargo carriers and private sector security firms are working together to ensure public safety. MSA is actively engaged in this effort, deploying over 100 explosive detection canine teams, known as Windsor Teams, to screen cargo for various clients. The partnership between MSA and DGF was one of the first of its kind, and as such, has provided valuable insight and lessons learned.
“Once we learned the TSA would be allowing third party canine providers to screen cargo for explosives, we immediately reached out to MSA because of their stellar reputation,” notes Timothy Upham, Head of the TSA Program for DHL Global Forwarding. “We wanted to incorporate canines into our programme early to prepare for the transition. We were pleased to discover that information from our pilot with MSA was also valuable to TSA as it shaped the 3PK9 programme."