Air cargo end-run

A MONTH AGO, it looked as if Congress had finally plugged one of the gaps in air travel security: the failure of officials to inspect the commercial cargo that passenger airplanes carry in their holds. Now the Transportation Security Administration is considering an interpretation of the new law to allow companies to ship cargo that they have certified as safe, without X-ray or physical inspection by TSA officials. Since this clearly falls short of what the law intended, members of Congress should tell TSA to come up with a rule mandating an inspection with real teeth.

Both the airlines and the Bush administration opposed the new law, even though the bipartisan 9/11 commission endorsed commercial cargo inspection and it has long had the enthusiastic support of unions representing pilots and flight attendants. Passengers, their checked luggage and their carry-on items are all inspected. It is only logical to require the same level of scrutiny for goods that firms ship on passenger planes.

Until now, most screening of commercial cargo has applied the "known shipper" rule: As long as an airline has worked with a shipper before, that firm can send uninspected goods. The TSA is weighing a "certified shipper" program in which goods are sealed at a company that meets US security standards. But the law specifically requires "a level of security commensurate with the level of security for the screening of passenger checked bags."

The folly of relying on shippers to police themselves became evident in 2003, when an employee of a "known shipper" firm had himself shipped in a cargo box from New York to Texas to save on airfare. The flying public and airline pilots and attendants deserve the higher level of security that the new law calls for. Members of Congress, especially bill sponsor Representative Edward Markey of Malden, should make sure they get it.