April 23 (Bloomberg) -- Pilots of cargo airlines including FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc. may start carrying guns as early as May 1, expanding U.S. efforts to prevent a repeat of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

The first group of cargo pilots begins 56 hours of training Monday and those who complete the course will be deputized as federal officers, said Andrea McCauley, a Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman in Washington. Training will be at a law-enforcement center in Artesia, New Mexico, she said.

Thousands of U.S. passenger airline pilots are carrying government-issued .40-caliber semi-automatic pistols in locked cases into cockpits under a voluntary program that began in April 2003. The agency has declined to disclose how many pilots participate, citing security concerns.

Fewer than 2 percent of passenger flights have armed pilots, said David Mackett, president of the Airline Pilots Security Alliance. The pilot group backs legislation that would encourage additional volunteers by dropping requirements such as carrying the weapons in locked boxes, he said.

Congress added the shippers to the gun program in a law enacted in December. The cargo carriers including Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx and Atlanta-based United Parcel had opposed the expansion, saying weapons should be barred from being in the workplace.

The security agency is spending $25 million this year on pilot training sessions that run twice each week, McCauley said.

Last Updated: April 23, 2004 12:54 EDT