s [By FTW Online]
The more innovative and ‘convenient’ the courier/express parcel delivery industry becomes – with the advent of 24-hour drop boxes and increased e-commerce platforms – the higher the risk of hidden dangerous goods and the greater the likelihood of serious dangerous goods mishaps.
Professional Aviation Services’ David Alexander points out that courier companies, for example, deal directly with the public and are essentially “driving blind” when it comes to hidden dangerous goods items that are either not declared or are misdeclared.
“Couriers are under continual time pressure and they don’t know their clients, or even see them in the case of the 24-hour drop box scenario, and they don’t know what’s in the box they are picking up or dropping off,” he explains. They are also not equipped to handle the transportation of dangerous goods.”