The recent Air Cargo Conference 2026, held in Orlando, Florida, on 15-17FEB26, and hosted by the Airforwarders Association, the Air and Expedited Motor Carriers Association, and Airports Council International – North America, included a panel on Dangerous Goods, which also look at regulatory issues around the screening of lithium batteries. Panelists were Sandy Gregory of Gregory Logistics, LLC, Jim Powell of Transportation Development Group, LLC, Jennifer Kirkland of AllTransPack, Inc, Christopher Garcia of the Federal Aviation Administration, and Global K9’s Chief Operating Officer, Roland Beason. He used the platform to urge the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to clarify regulations around its Third-Party Canine-Cargo (3PK9-C) Program. The 3PK9-C program is part of TSA’s Certified Cargo Screening Programs (CCSP) and was initially developed to focus on the detection of explosives. Meanwhile, with the increase in lithium batteries and the risks they pose to air cargo, more dangerous goods need to fall under the 3PK9-C program, which itself requires greater detail and less room for confusion or misinterpretation. “The goal of these programs should be to harmonize screening operations across the board, making sure that every canine team for every screening provider is operating to the same standard,” he said, adding: “From a dangerous goods standpoint, the 3PK9-C Program is not clearly defined. As items, such as lithium batteries, continue to be prolific in air cargo shipments, it is only becoming more important that we have clearly defined, indisputable regulations tailored to specific items – it is paramount to ensuring compliance and safety. We are hopeful that later this year, changes to the 3PK9-C program will be confirmed in line with our recent edits and comments, of which the TSA has accepted the vast majority.”
