The
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has published
the Final Rule for the new Secure Flight passenger-screening
program.
The stated intent of this program is to streamline and
simplify the watch list matching process in a way that
minimizes false matches and protects passengers' personally-identifiable
information. Under Secure Flight, airlines will receive
passenger information either directly or from travel agents
and transmit that information to TSA for watch-list comparison.
Following this screening, TSA will then electronically
notify the airlines whether each passenger may receive
a boarding pass. The Secure Flight Program will be phased-in
in several stages over the coming year. Selected airlines
have volunteered to implement the program beginning in
mid-January, 2009. Other domestic carriers will be required
to participate, beginning in May and June, with international
carriers joining in late 2009. Under Secure Flight, the
following data must be collected for transmission to the
airlines, which will, in turn, transmit the passenger
data to TSA for pre-flight screening. Other available
information will also be collected, including a passenger's
"Redress Number" (a TSA-issued code given to
certain passengers whose names have triggered "false
positive" matches to watch lists in the past); and
passport type, number, and country of issuance.
1. Last Name
The passenger's last name must be collected. The name
should match the government-issued identification the
passenger intends to present at the airport prior to boarding.
NOTE: the government-issued ID is the controlling document;
in all cases of doubt about the key information to collect,
refer to the ID that will be used at the airport. If the
collected information matches exactly that document, the
passenger should be cleared to receive a boarding pass.
2. First Name
The passenger's first name must be collected. If the passenger's
first name appears as a single character (e.g., "F.
recorded as "F").
3. Middle Name
Mandatory if available. If the passenger does not have
a middle name, or if the passenger's government-issued
ID does not include a middle name, this field may be left
blank.
4. Date of Birth
5. Gender
TSA will accept only a single-character response of M
or F.
*Please note that Accent Travel will start to request
this personal data from all passengers beginning in 2009
to update profiles for submission to the airlines, and
that passengers who decline to provide this information
in advance of their travel plans will face-at a minimum-additional
screening and delays at the airport, likely to include
being denied boarding.
