US Homeland Security Secretary, Michael Chertoff, announced Wednesday the implementation of a final rule for a government program developed to screen potential air passengers against the government’s “no fly” terrorist watch list. The program, Secure Flight, will be in effect in early 2009 for domestic flights (late 2009 for international flights) and will require airlines to collect and submit to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) the full names, gender and birthdate of traveling passengers. The TSA will then compare the information against the government’s watch list and decide whether a passenger should receive a boarding pass.
The program is designed to eliminate misidentifications and other inefficiencies in the process, which was previously handled by the airlines themselves. The program has been delayed due to privacy concerns, but the TSA Administrator, Kip Hawley, stated:
“Secure Flight will improve security by maintaining the confidentiality of the government’s watch list information while fully protecting passengers’ privacy and civil liberties. … Ensuring privacy has been a cornerstone of this program and TSA has developed a comprehensive privacy plan to incorporate privacy laws and practices into all areas of Secure Flight.”
Source: http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/10/chertoff-announces-revised-airline.php
http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/layers/secureflight/index.shtm
Tags: Secure Flight, Terrorist Watch List, Transportation Security Administration
