For Immediate Release!
January 16, 2002

ACTE Supports Reintroduction of Air Cargo Security Bill

Alexandria, Va (Jan. 16) -- The Association of Corporate Travel Executives has today endorsed plans of Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) to reintroduce a bill mandating a tighter system of tracking air cargo and identifying employees who have access to it. According to a recent study by the General Accounting Office (requested by Feinstein), nearly 22 percent of all air cargo is carried by the airlines, much of which is vulnerable to tampering.

"I have offered this association's resources as a research tool, a sounding board, and as a communications vehicle to Senator Feinstein and Senator Hutchinson in their effort to plug the air cargo security gap," said ACTE President Mark A. Williams. "There are still too many security breaches 18 months after the 9/11 attacks. And we know the enemy is constantly probing, looking for weak spots. As John Philpot Curran so aptly surmised, eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. And that certainly applies to the freedom of traveling safely."

For more information, contact:
Jack Riepe, ACTE Communications
1-610-256-0124 or [email protected]

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Founded in 1988, the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) is a member-driven organization wholly dedicated to the science of business travel management with an international constituency. ACTE membership totals more than 2,400, including business travel executives in Asia-Pacific, Canada, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the United States. The organization is headquartered in Alexandria, Va., with regional offices located in Brussels, and Singapore. ACTE's web site is www.acte.org.