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If you or a loved one catches the dreaded Swine flu, changes of surviving the ordeal with little more than a few days of discomfort are highly favorable.

On the other hand, there will be those who suffer a different fate including the endangerment of their lives.

As the Obama Administration works to encourage the development of a vaccination program, legions of health experts appear in the media teaching us proper coughing and sneezing techniques. Certainly the hand sanitizing industry stands to benefit as populations begin to defend themselves against a potentially devastating virus that could paralyze a country.

And like Swine-flu on the nation, few can predict the potential impact on the U.S. air cargo industry with the mandated 100 percent air cargo-screening deadline less than a year away.

While adopting a "wait and see" strategy may seem like a reasonable choice, seasoned airfreight professionals should understand the value of preparation and becoming educated. While all the threats may not materialize, it is nonetheless wise to be prepared. Many forwarders and airlines are devising plans to minimize sceening delays and keep shipments moving on time.

Despite the idealistic statments of some suggesting otherwise, it is clear that screening is here to stay. It is the law of our land, and with that reality comes the requirement for full compliance if our industry is to remain viable.

In fact, the Transport Security Administrion (TSA) has charged the airlines with making sure unscreened freight is not flown on U.S. passenger fights after the deadline. Few in Washington dispute the requirement and the Administration appears committed to make it happen. With that in mind, it is now up to industry to achieve compliance by August of 2010 without adverse effect.

The TSA implemented the Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP) as its primary means to meet the security screening requirement. Its inclusion of shippers, third parties and forwarders as cargo screeners makes sense because it ensures screening is done by professionally qualified entitites instead of recently trained TSA employees.

Airline will provide airport screening for those not in CCSP but require a robust program to relieve the pressue of screening all cargo at airport facilities.

While compliance is the necessary focus of the industry and all industry associations, this should not be interpreted as a widespread endorsement of the current screening mandate as the best way to achieve cargo security.

In the past, the U.S. Airforwarders' Association (AfA) and others have warned that there are serious flaws within the specifics of the screening requirements, including lack of cargo-specific technology availalble for screening and unrealistic timetables for inbound screening. Finally, the emphasis on piece level screening threatens to slow the supply chain, as the TSA has not certified machinery to screen pallets and unit load devices containing multiple commodities.

On the contrary, there is a considerable support for other approaches to cargo security that are believed to be much more effective. Experts, both in the U.S. and Europe, have stated that risk-based approaches are the best path to effective cargo security.

Unfortunately, the new law clearly abandons this strategy by de-emphasizing a risk-driven focus in favor of an expensive, inefficient and possibly ineffective method of securing our skies. The U.S. Congress and TSA can do better and while we have no choice but to comply with the current law, we should not abandon our effort to review the existing security policy.

The next year promises to be challenging for airfreight forwarders between dealing with an adverse economic climate and meeting upcoming security screening demands. The AfA urges forwarders to be prudent in complying with the new law while the organization continues to work for favorable change.

If you have stories about issues relating to the upcoming screening requirements, please let us know so that they may be included in our future advocacy activities here in Washington, at: www.airforwarders.org/contact_us.php

Compliance with the existing law is not mutually exclusive from advocating for better solutions within the existing regime. Both can and must occur simultaneously if we are to secure not only the cargo we proffer, but our own futures as well - even with Swine flu.