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SECURE FLIGHT
Secure Flight — Background
On Oct. 28, 2008, the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) published the Final Rule for the new Secure
Flight passenger-screening program. This marks the culmination of an effort
that began with Congressional passage of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism
Protection Act of 2004. This law required TSA to assume responsibility for
conducting pre-flight comparison of passenger information to Federal government
terrorist watch lists - a job that has until now been performed by the
airlines. Secure Flight will match name, date of birth and gender
information for each passenger against government watch lists to: § Identify
known and suspected terrorists § Prevent
individuals on the No Fly List from boarding an aircraft § Identify
individuals on the Selectee List for enhanced screening § Facilitate
passenger air travel § Protect
individuals' privacy After matching passenger information against government
watch lists, TSA will transmit the results back to the airlines, giving them
the authority to print boarding passes. Implementation Timeline
Effective May 1, 2009, there will be new data collection
requirements in order to expedite the passenger check-in process. Data Collection Requirements
There are three required Secure Flight data elements and
one optional element. Last Name, Gender and Date of Birth are required. Redress
Number is optional. 1. Full Name - Required The name must match the government-issued identification
the passenger intends to present at the airport prior to boarding. The
government-issued ID is the controlling document. A middle name is mandatory if the government-issued ID
includes a middle name. If the passenger does not have a middle name, or if the
passenger’s government-issued ID does not include a middle name, then it
does not need to be collected. Example: If the passenger's first name appears as a single
character (e.g., "F. Scott Fitzgerald") on the passenger's
government-issued ID, then that single character may be recorded. If, on the
other hand, the passenger's ID includes a longer name, then that full name-and
not the abbreviation-must be recorded (e.g., the first name of a passenger
whose ID bears the name "Francis Scott Fitzgerald" may not be
recorded as "F"). Travelers are advised to review their frequent flier
award memberships to be sure their name exactly matches that on their
government-issued ID; otherwise, credit will not be given for miles flown. 2. Date of Birth -
Required Travel agents will be
required to collect the date of birth as it appears on the document the
traveler plans to present at the airport. 3. Gender - Required Travel agents will be required to collect gender as it
appears on the document the traveler plans to present at the airport. 4. Redress Number
— Optional A Redress Number is a
TSA-issued code given to certain passengers whose names have triggered
"false positive" matches to watch lists in the past. Collection by
travel agents of a Redress Number is optional and agents are not required to
solicit it. The Department of Homeland
Security’s (DHS) Redress Program is called DHS TRIP and is a single point of contact
for individuals who have inquiries or seek resolution regarding difficulties they
experience at security check points. More information on the Redress Program can be found at
TSA.gov. Applying for a redress number is
the passenger's responsibility, not the travel agent. Passenger Refusals Passengers who decline to
provide Secure Flight information to the airlines in advance of their travel plans
will face, at a minimum, secondary screening and delays at the airport, and
could be denied boarding. TSA’s ID Requirements for Airport
Security Screening While Secure Flight is focused
on pre-travel terrorist watch list screening, it is inextricably related to airport
screening procedures. Secure Flight data elements must match those presented during the
security screening process. TSA’s current screening
procedures require all adult passengers (18 and over) to show a U.S. federal or
state-issued photo ID that contains the following: name, date of birth, gender, expiration date and a
tamper-resistant feature in order to be allowed to go through the checkpoint
and onto their flight. The most commonly used IDs are U.S. passports and
state-issued drivers licenses. Acceptable IDs include: §
U.S. passport §
U.S. passport card §
DHS "Trusted Traveler" cards (NEXUS,
SENTRI, FAST) §
U.S. Military ID (active duty or retired
military and their dependents) §
Permanent Resident Card §
Border Crossing Card §
DHS-designated enhanced driver's license §
Drivers Licenses or other state photo
identity cards issued by Department of Motor Vehicles (or equivalent) that
meets REAL ID benchmarks (All states are currently in compliance) §
A Native American Tribal Photo ID §
An airline or airport-issued ID (if issued under
a TSA-approved security plan) §
A foreign government-issued passport Canadian
provincial driver's license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada §
(INAC) card §
Transportation Worker Identification Credential
(TWIC) Passengers who do not or cannot
present an acceptable ID will have to provide information to the TSA Security
Officer in order to verify their identity. Passengers who are cleared through this process
may be subject to additional screening. Passengers whose identity cannot be
verified by TSA may not be allowed to go through the checkpoint or onto an
airplane. Non-US/Canadian citizens are not
required to carry their passports if they have documents issued by the U.S.
government such as Permanent Resident Cards. Those who do not should be
carrying their passports while visiting the U.S. |