Washington ? The cargo that airlines carry on passenger jets doesn’t get the same close scrutiny as travelers or luggage, a security problem that government officials say they’re working to correct.

Transportation Security Administration officials say they are committed to keeping bombs out of cargo shipments, just as they strive to meet congressional deadlines for screening passengers and their baggage.

“We’re concerned about anything that flies on passenger planes,” said Bill Wilkening, the TSA’s manager of dangerous goods and cargo security. “Everything is the same priority in terms of addressing vulnerabilities.”

The problem is that air cargo isn’t screened for explosives or weapons, the people handling the package may not be known to the airline and safeguards can be circumvented, said a government report and critics of the system.

“It’s definitely a hole,” said Capt. Steve Luckey, chairman of the Air Line Pilots Assn.’s national security committee. “The layers of security that surround the passenger-carrying system aren’t there to protect the cargo operation.”

Air cargo provides significant income for the financially pressed airlines, bringing in $13 billion last year. It accounts for about 12 percent to 15 percent of their revenue, according to the Air Transport Assn., the major carriers’ trade group. Of the 12.5 million tons of air cargo shipped in 2000, passenger flights carried 22 percent, or 2.5 million tons, the TSA said.

Government and industry officials say they have improved cargo security since Sept. 11, and are working to make it even tighter.

Airlines and freight forwarders, who assemble packages from many different companies, can no longer accept packages from shippers they don’t know, for instance.

“We know the carriers are applying this rule because the customers come to us and complain,” said the TSA’s Wilkening.

To make sure airlines and freight companies comply with the rules, 150 government inspectors do spot checks to make sure all procedures are followed properly, Wilkening said. Still, there are more than 3,000 freight forwarders, so many companies are not checked, he acknowledged.