New Pilot Program May Ease Security for Frequent Flyers
Updated: Monday, Apr. 19, 2004 - 5:35 PM
Steve Eldridge, WTOP Radio
WASHINGTON -- The airline business relies heavily on its frequent flyers. Now, the Transportation Security Administration is trying to come up with a way to make their trip through security a little easier.
It's called the "Registered Traveler Program," a voluntary pre-screening which would eliminate part of the airport screening process. Those volunteering would be asked to submit personal information, including a fingerprint or an iris scan, for the TSA to determine eligibility.
All volunteers will still undergo basic screening procedures.
David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, is on-board with the new plan.
"We're big supporters of the Registered Traveler Program."
Even still, he thinks the benefit needs to go further.
"People would really just be avoiding the secondary screening, that's not what business travelers and other travelers are concerned about. They want to know when they get to the airport that they'll only be on the security line ... no more than ten minutes."
The TSA has put out a request for private companies to run the program at as many as five airports. Sources say Reagan National is one of the airports to be included in the 90-day pilot study.
Here is the list of airports included in the new study:
* Love Field in Dallas
* Logan International in Boston
* Reagan National
* Nashville
* Palm Beach
The TSA expects between 5,000 and 10,000 travelers to participate in the program, scheduled to start in June.
The Request for Proposals states that the government will conduct the security assessments, even though the contractor will develop programs to gather the information. The government will also supply and maintain the database storage for the list of Registered Travelers.
It appears that the information on the passenger would be stored in a "smart-card" -type medium. These tokens or credentials will become the integral part of the program as it relates to identifying the passenger.
(Copyright 2004 by WTOP Radio. All Rights Reserved.)
wtopnews.com
steve |
