Background
To comply with the international standards of Annex 17 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Security – Safeguarding International Civil Aviation Against Acts of Unlawful Interference), Hong Kong has implemented the Regulated Agent Regime (RAR) since March 2000 to ensure that aircraft operators carry on passenger flights only consignments of cargo the security of which has been accounted for by a Regulated Agent or which has been subjected to other security controls. Afterwards, to ensure adherence to the revised air cargo security standards promulgated by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) applicable from 15 July 2013, Hong Kong extended the application of the RAR to cargo carried on all-cargo aircraft.
In September 2016, the ICAO announced a policy direction to further enhance international standards on air cargo security. The policy direction requires that consignors not subject to approval by the Aviation Security Authority should be phased out by 30 June 2021. Under this new policy, consignors either have to:-
- be approved by the appropriate authority as a “validated” Known Consignor (KC), or
- become an "unknown consignor" with all cargo subject to 100% security screening prior to being loaded on to a commercial aircraft.
Hong Kong has an obligation to meet ICAO’s security requirements. To comply with the policy direction, the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) has enhanced the RAR and launched two schemes after consultation with air cargo industry representative bodies. The Regulated Air Cargo Screening Facilities (RACSF) Scheme, to enable and regulate cargo screening in off-airport locations, and the Known Consignor (KC) Validation Scheme, for Consignors which produce / manufacture or assemble goods for transport as air cargo from secure facilities within Hong Kong, were launched in October 2018 and May 2020 respectively.
