November 4, 2010 – Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Administrator John S. Pistole on Wednesday visited Yemen to meet with government officials including Deputy Prime Minister Rashad al-Alimi, officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Interior as well as the U.S. Ambassador. 

The TSA Administrator also received briefings from TSA inspectors deployed to Yemen and expressed his gratitude for their work. Additionally, Pistole toured a cargo facility in Sana’a. Tuesday, Pistole spoke to the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) AVSEC World Conference in Frankfurt, Germany, met with international aviation security officials and signed an international security agreement with Germany.

Following the disruption of an attempt last week to ship explosive devices on board aircraft bound for the U.S, TSA and the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) took immediate measures to enhance existing protocols for screening inbound cargo, including grounding packages originating from Yemen destined for the U.S. and deploying a team of inspectors to assist the government of Yemen with their cargo screening procedures.

Pursuant to the 9/11 Act, TSA has taken significant steps to increase the security of air cargo on passenger aircraft. Under this Administration, TSA requires all cargo that is transported upon domestic or international outbound passenger aircraft to undergo security screening. In addition, all cargo flying to the U.S. on passenger or all-cargo planes, must meet TSA security standards which include specific requirements covering how facilities and cargo are accessed, the vetting of personnel with access to cargo, employee training, and how cargo must be screened.

Further, all international inbound aircraft carrying cargo must provide cargo manifest information to CBP prior to arrival on long-haul flights and at wheels-up on flights from Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean, for additional screening upon arrival in the U.S. DHS routinely provides threat briefings to air carriers and the private sector, and TSA conducted a tabletop exercise with carriers in August that included a scenario focused on IEDs on board commercial and cargo planes.