Most U.S.-Bound Air Cargo Is Not Screened, Paper Reports

Only about 20% of the 9 billion pounds of air cargo that comes to the United States from overseas each year is physically checked for bombs, USA Today reported Tuesday.

Air-cargo security is under scrutiny following a foiled plot late last week to sneak bombs into U.S.-bound planes using cargo packages sent from Yemen, USA Today reported in a front-page story. (Click here for previous story.)

The newspaper cited data from the Transportation Security Administration, part of the Department of Homeland Security, which said the current tracking system aims at seeking “high risk” air cargo.

At some overseas airports, cargo is checked for bombs before being put on planes, but that screening could be below U.S. security standards, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the paper said.

DHS uses computers to identify possibly dangerous cargo, usually after flights are already in the air and en route to the U.S., and many of those flights are passenger planes carrying cargo in the hold, USA Today reported.