Despite having had some four years to prepare, no fewer than 12 European Union (EU) countries were not ready when the EU’s new air cargo security augmentation initiative, the Pre-Loading Advance Cargo Information (PLACI) system, went live on March 1. Further, these countries – Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Sweden – have not given definitive timelines for when they would be ready to implement PLACI.

The representative body of the global airline industry, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), has called for urgent action to address the supply chain problems this incomplete implementation of PLACI was threatening. The association pointed out that the 12 non-compliant States contained some of the EU’s main cargo hub airports.

“The delayed implementation of PLACI in 12 European States must be urgently addressed,” stressed IATA global head of cargo Brendan Sullivan. “With supply chain difficulties already impacting people and businesses, the risk of increased delays for custom clearance must be avoided.”

PLACI is fully compliant with the principles established by both the World Customs Organisation and the International Civil Aviation Organisation. It applies to imports into the EU from elsewhere (thus, for example, it affects South African exporters to the bloc). It is a new ‘layer’ of advanced security information for air cargo. This information allows countries to target and assess risks concerning cargo, before that cargo arrives at its destination. PLACI-required information has to be supplied, in fact, before the cargo is loaded on to an aircraft.

“It is exasperating that 12 European governments have not met the implementation timeline and have yet to provide definitive indication of when they will be ready,” he asserted. “These States must urgently provide the necessary clarity to enable airlines to adapt their own implementation planning.”