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Come January, at least one aspect of traveling by air may improve. That's when Uncle Sam takes over passenger screening from the airlines. Under a program dubbed Secure Flight, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will assume responsibility for checking passengers against a watch list of known and suspected terrorists. Currently, that job is performed by the airlines, and each one has its own process. "One carrier may have a sophisticated computer system that uses robust filters to clear names. Another carrier may check names manually," says Greg Wellen, assistant administrator of TSA. The result is that thousands of travelers are daily delayed by additional questioning and searches as well as missed flights.
A centralized system should mean fewer false positive identifications. But to be effective, it will require more information from passengers up front, such as date of birth, which should result in fewer false hits. "This should help sort out the good John Smith from the bad John Smith," says Stewart Verdery of the National Business Travel Association. The problem: This will take extra time, so while the airlines and travel agencies are supportive of Secure Flight, they are uneasy about how much additional information they will be required to collect and how much it will cost in both money and time for airlines and passengers.
Industry and consumer groups want the new system to be phased in gradually. Going live all at once with Secure Flight could be risky and cause significant disruptions, given that 2 million people a day travel through the system. "At the very least, they (TSA officials) should sit down with us and discuss how they intend to implement this program," says one airline executive. These groups are hoping that more details will be included in the final rule, which is expected to be issued around Nov. 1.
Secure Flight's path has been long and torturous. A uniform watch list was first recommended by the 9/11 Commission, but earlier incarnations ran into opposition because of privacy concerns and data security. "This thing has had a longer gestation than an elephant," says Paul Ruden of the American Society of Travel Agents.
In the 2005 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, Congress outlined 10 requirements for Secure Flight before it could go forward, including adding security measures to prevent hacking, establishing a redress process and an oversight board. The government says it has now met those requirements.
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POSTED BY: TERRY KOERNER (October 06, 2008 03:50 PM)
I think we need a scanable pass port that is the size of a drivers licence, that brings our picture and address on a computer screen
Just like some of the banks are now using, so they know who is asking to cash in a CD or IRA
The current pass port is too big and can be lost to easy
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