Industry estimates show that about a million pieces of cargo pass through passenger planes every month and this is a weak link that could be potentially exploited by terrorists.

So, after two long years of intense discussions between security agencies and industry players, a new programme called the Regulated Air Cargo Agents Regime was launched at the Singapore Aviation Academy on Sep. 8.

Agents who register under this regime have to put their own security programme in place across the entire supply chain.

This means having document checks and verifying where the cargo is coming from before accepting it. And when storing it, agents have to ensure it is in a secure environment.

In return, their cargo has to come from a known shipper and they do not have to go through the whole gamut of X-rays and checks.

However, there will still be random checks and full scans for three to five per cent of cargo originating from unknown shippers.

Arriving at this point where about 85 per cent of the industry has joined the programme was not easy. The industry is made up of 65 per cent local players and 35 per cent multinational corporations like DHL.

Alec Koh, council member, Singapore Aircargo Agents Association, said: "We were very concerned with the speed and efficiency that Singapore had. A lot of compromises (had to be made but we ensured) that we maintained our stand as one of the top air cargo cities in the world."

Top on the list of air cargo agents' concerns were increased operating costs, conservatively estimated at about two per cent, and time-consuming processes and audits.

But for the first two years at least, the cost of the screening will be borne by the government.

Similar regimes have been adopted and implemented in several other countries and regions such as Australia, United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Japan.