Known consignor

A known consignor is a shipper approved by the aviation security authority to secure its own air cargo, which in the EU and UK can then fly without being screened again. Cargo from anyone else is screened by a regulated agent before loading. The US has a known shipper program, but screens all cargo on passenger aircraft regardless.

In the EU and UK

Regulation (EC) 300/2008 defines a known consignor as one who originates cargo or mail for its own account and whose procedures meet common security rules sufficient for carriage on any aircraft. Under Regulation (EU) 2015/1998, all cargo is screened by a regulated agent — an airline, agent or forwarder that applies security controls — unless a regulated agent or a known consignor has already applied them and the consignment has been protected from interference until loading. Approval is site-specific and re-validated at intervals of no more than 5 years.

The UK's Civil Aviation Authority runs the scheme on behalf of the Department for Transport. It uses the same definition — procedures that allow carriage on any civilian aircraft — and adds two points: the scheme is voluntary, and every known consignor is validated every 12 months.

The EU and the US side by side

In the US, airlines must carry out a known shipper program and keep known shipper cargo apart from unknown shipper cargo. TSA has refused to let unknown shipper cargo travel on passenger aircraft since 2006, and since 3 August 2010 airlines have had to screen 100 percent of the cargo on a passenger aircraft — at the airport, or at a Certified Cargo Screening Facility, which must be in the United States.

The mistake people make

Treating approval as covering the whole company. EU approval is site-specific: goods packed at a second warehouse, or at a supplier's plant, are not secured by the approved site's status, and reach the airport as cargo for a regulated agent to screen.