{{unreferenced, date=February 2012
In response to the
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...
on the
World Trade Center in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
, the
United States Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the Federal government of the United States, U.S. United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the I ...
(DHS) implemented new rules to ensure the safety of domestic and international air travel in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
. The rules of this program are administered by the
Transportation Security Administration
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that has authority over the security of transportation systems within, and connecting to the United States. It was created ...
(TSA), who is responsible for the oversight of all transportation security, including truck, rail and ocean, as well as air.
While the specifics of the security program are restricted, the multi-layered program effectively eliminates the anonymous shipment of all documents, parcels,
counter-to-counter package
In the airline and some other transportation industries, a counter-to-counter package is a quicker (and more expensive) alternative to standard freight for the shipment of small parcels and envelope
An envelope is a common packaging item ...
s and freight on both passenger and cargo-only flights originating within the U.S. Such anonymous shipments were frequent in the years prior to 2001 and led to growing concern in
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
and amongst the general public about the overall security of air travel.
In the post-September 11th era, shippers who have been properly vetted with the TSA by an air carrier or freight forwarder are considered a Known Shipper with the TSA. Such shippers may tender their freight for shipment on both passenger and cargo-only aircraft, with some restrictions. Available alternatives for Unknown Shippers to ship via air are now very limited. Collectively, this program is known within the industry as the Known Shipper Program.
United States Department of Homeland Security