Air cargo passes through several sets of hands before it reaches an aircraft, and each set works inside a regulated security environment. Freight sits on a dock, goes onto a truck, and is released at an airline or handler facility. Shippers and freight forwarders want to know who is cleared to handle it at each step.
At Adcom, that answer covers the whole team that touches air freight. We run drivers who hold STA clearance, and the warehouse and dock employees who handle air cargo also hold STA clearance and have completed the required security training. This article explains what that vetting covers, how it ties to Adcom’s Indirect Air Carrier (IAC) status, and where it stops.
What Is STA Clearance, and Who Needs It?
A Security Threat Assessment (STA) is a TSA background check completed by an individual, not by a company. Under TSA’s indirect air carrier rules, an individual must complete an STA before the carrier authorizes them to perform certain air cargo functions. Those include unescorted access to cargo bound for a passenger aircraft and functions tied to the transportation, dispatch, or security of that cargo (49 CFR 1548.15).
That is why this article says TSA-vetted personnel with STA clearance. The wording names the check a person passed, and it keeps the company-level approval separate. Airports, airlines, and cargo handlers add their own access and badging rules on top, so an STA is one requirement among several.
How Are Drivers Cleared for Airport Pickups and Cargo Facility Deliveries?
Every Adcom driver holds STA clearance. That clearance supports the two moves that put a truck on airport property: collecting freight from an airline or handler, and delivering freight to a cargo facility. Each facility still sets its own access requirements, so the receiving party’s rules apply on the day.
Take an inbound shipment that lands at Tampa International. A driver collects it from the handler and carries it to the consignee, which is the ground leg we cover in our guide to airport recovery at TPA. Because the driver’s STA clearance is already in place, it is not an open question when the freight is waiting and the clock is running.
Do Warehouse and Dock Employees Need Vetting Too?
Yes, when they handle air cargo. A truck is one step in the chain. Before freight goes to the airport or after it comes back, it is often unloaded, staged, consolidated, or held on a dock, and the people doing that work have direct access to the freight.
Adcom’s warehouse and dock employees who handle air cargo hold STA clearance, the same as our drivers, and have completed the required security training. TSA treats training as a separate requirement from the STA. Under 49 CFR 1548.11, an indirect air carrier may not use an employee or agent for security-related duties unless that person has been trained as its security program specifies. The rule also requires recurrent training at least annually.
For a freight forwarder or shipper, this closes a gap that is easy to miss. A vetted driver does not help much if the freight sits on a dock overnight with staff who have not been cleared to handle it.
What Does Indirect Air Carrier Status Add at the Company Level?
Personnel vetting and company approval are two layers of the same system. Adcom is a TSA-approved indirect air carrier, and that IAC status is current. It means the company operates under a TSA security program, and the rules in that program are what define which employees may handle air cargo and what training they must complete.
The individual clearances sit inside that structure. In the language of the rule, the carrier authorizes the person, and the person must complete the STA before that authorization applies. Not every trucking company that hauls air cargo holds IAC status, because the requirement depends on the company’s role in the shipment. When you compare providers for an air freight service, ask two questions: is the company an IAC, and do the people handling the freight hold STA clearance?
Which Adcom Services Involve TSA-Vetted Personnel?
Vetted personnel matter anywhere air cargo is part of the move, and that reaches beyond the truck. The services below all depend on the same two groups: STA-cleared drivers and STA-cleared warehouse and dock staff.
- Air freight: same-day, next-day, and second-day moves connected to Tampa International, with STA-cleared drivers on the ground leg.
- Airport recovery: collecting freight from the airline or handler and delivering it to the consignee.
- Cross docking: sorting and redistributing a shipment between the airport and final delivery when it cannot move as one unit, handled by dock staff with STA clearance.
- Warehousing: holding or staging air freight before onward delivery.
- Expedited and emergency freight: time-critical moves where a missed release window delays the whole move.
Time pressure shows up most in industries where a part is holding up a repair. Our aerospace and AOG freight work is built around the repair deadline, and a delivery like that cannot wait on a credential question at the cargo door. The same applies to gate access and signing authority, which decide whether an urgent delivery completes once the driver arrives.
If your freight belongs to a specific sector, the industries we serve page lists the services each one uses.
What Does Personnel Vetting Not Cover?
Vetted personnel remove one source of delay, but they do not decide the outcome of a shipment. Cargo screening is a separate process, carried out by regulated parties under TSA-approved programs, so a person’s STA says nothing about whether a given shipment has been screened.
Airports and cargo facilities also keep their own rules for entry, badging, and escorts, which is why STA clearance does not open every gate. Flight schedules and facility hours still set the timeline. The practical step is to send the airport, handler, and release details with the request, so access is confirmed before the truck leaves the dock.
Frequently Asked Questions
These are the questions forwarders and shippers ask most often when they vet a carrier for air cargo work.
Which Adcom employees hold STA clearance?
All Adcom drivers hold STA clearance. Warehouse and dock employees who handle air cargo also hold STA clearance and have completed the required security training.
Is IAC status the same as STA clearance?
No. IAC status is the company’s TSA approval to operate under a security program. STA clearance belongs to an individual who has completed the TSA background check. Adcom’s IAC status is current, and its personnel hold STA clearance.
Does STA clearance get a driver into any airport?
No. Airports, airlines, and cargo handlers control their own entry, badging, and escort rules, so confirm access requirements with the receiving facility before dispatch.
Does this apply to freight that does not travel by air?
The requirements in this article apply to air cargo. For ground freight that never connects to an airport, see our FTL and LTL service. Whether a shipment needs vetted personnel depends on the shipment, so mention it when you request a quote.
Keep Air Freight With Vetted Personnel From Airport to Dock
Air freight stays secure only as long as every person who touches it is cleared to do so. At Adcom, that means STA-cleared drivers, STA-cleared warehouse and dock employees, and a current IAC status behind both. If your air freight needs TSA-vetted personnel with STA clearance at every step from the airport to the final dock, send us the airport, handler, and release details through our quote form or call 813-887-3747, and we will confirm access before dispatch.