The Australian freight industry will face new security measures in moving products by air under the federal government's aviation white paper released on Dec. 22.

Hardened cockpit doors, introduced to passenger planes in the wake of Sep. 11, will be compulsory to fit on cargo aircraft by July 2014. Until now, only planes with 30 or more seats have been forced to fit the doors.

"The government believes it is important to ensure these aircraft are subject to appropriate security measures proportionate to their capacity to inflict damage on a ground target," the white paper noted.

In another change, by 2010 all air cargo being flown to the U.S. will have to be screened.

Opposition transport spokesman Warren Truss raised concerns about changes to airport security contained in the paper, in particular smaller regional airports will have to screen passengers the same way larger airports do from 2014.

"At least 14 airports currently served by QantasLink and possibly another eight airports will need to be rebuilt or have security upgraded to meet the new criteria," Truss said in a statement.

Other security changes flagged in the paper include tighter control on visitors' access to secure sections of airports.