LITTLE ROCK — A program that has been phased in during the past year will require airlines to collect additional information from passengers to help the government match travelers’ names against federal “no-fly” and enhanced screening lists.
Beginning Nov. 1, the Transportation Security Administration will not allow airlines to issue boarding passes to passengers who have not provided their full name, date of birth and sex to airlines. The carriers will pass the information along to the TSA, which will clear passengers to fly.
The program, which TSA started implementing in October 2009, aims to streamline security and cut down on the number of travelers who are misidentified as security risks. The program grew out of a 9/11 Commission recommendation that the TSA develop a uniform system to match passengers against watch lists.
Previously, airlines were responsible for checking their passengers’ names against the watch lists and did not always have enough specific information about passengers to determine whether a passenger was really on the list or just had a name similar to someone on it.
“If we don’t know if you’re Sally B. Jones or Sally J. Jones, that can complicate the process and sometimes get you pulled aside for extra security review that may not be necessary,” said Tim Smith, a spokesman for American Airlines.
David Castelveter, a spokesman for the Air Transport Association, a trade group that represents airlines, said the Secure Flight data-matching system will be more precise.
“The airlines did it, TSA did it, in many cases these lists were manually matched. Now they’re using new technology to do it. It’s more streamlined,” he said.
Passengers who believe they have been mistakenly matched to a name on the watch list can contact TSA at www.dhs.gov/trip to be assigned a “redress number,” which can also be provided in order to avoid being misidentified.
The new regulations require that the additional passenger data be provided 72 hours before departure or at booking time, whichever comes first.
“The bottom line is no one gets on an airplane without being fully vetted, whether at 72 hours or five minutes before their flight,” said Sari Koshetz,a spokesman for the TSA.
Most airlines have started to collect the information when flights are booked or are working toward that. Koshetz said all domestic carriers had made the adjustments necessary to collect and secure the data as of June. The agency is working with international carriers that fly to the U.S. and expects them to be able to implement the program by the end of the year.
Southwest Airlines and Delta Airlines have required the Secure Flight information from passengers booking flights for several months.
American Airlines has asked passengers to provide the additional information, but did not require it at booking until last week.
The airline is working to notify customers who have already booked flights scheduled to depart after the Nov. 1 deadline to make sure they provide the information at least 72 hours before departure and will be able to receive boarding passes. Passengers can add the information online.
Smith said the company does not expect the requirements to disrupt travel for many passengers: Upward of 90 percent of customers buying tickets provided the information voluntarily, he said.
“Inevitably, I’m sure somewhere, some flight, somebody will have somehow or other missed this. It’s just the odds of 250,000 people traveling every day. But we do not frankly expect big, big problems,” he said.
A spokesman for United Airlines said the airline is “phasing in” collection of this information during the booking process and currently also collects it at check-in. Passengers can also add the information to existing reservations online.
Chris McGinnis, a travel expert who writes for Best Western’s travel blog, said in an e-mail that most customers will not notice much of a difference once the Nov. 1 deadline comes.
“I do know that whether it’s mandatory or not, airlines are asking passengers to go ahead and provide the info - so in the passengers’ eyes, it's pretty much already rolled out across the board.”
Business, Pages 25 on 09/22/2010