TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION:SECURE FLIGHT AND THE NO-FLY LIST

By: Sam Rozenberg

Secure Flight is a program developed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in response to a key 9/11 Commission recommendation: uniform watch list matching by TSA. The mission of the Secure Flight program is to enhance the security of domestic and international commercial air travel through the use of improved watch list matching.

What is Secure Flight: Secure Flight is a behind the scenes program that enhances the security of domestic and international commercial air travel through the use of improved watch list matching.

By collecting additional passenger data, it will improve the travel experience for all airline passengers, including those who have been misidentified in the past.

Secure Flight Video

Airlines must request and collect full name, date of birth, and gender, and Redress Number(if available) as of August 15, 2009 for domestic flights and as of October 31, 2009 for international flights. However, Secure Flight will be phased-in with each airline. Passengers should not be concerned if particular airlines do not ask them to provide the additional information right away; it should not impact their travel

Dept. of Homeland Security Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (TRIP).

The Department of Homeland Security's Travel Redress Inquiry Program (DHS TRIP) is a single point of contact for individuals who have inquiries or seek resolution regarding difficulties they experienced during their travel screening at transportation hubs--like airports and train stations--or while crossing U.S. borders. Redress issues include: denied or delayed airline boarding denied or delayed entry into and exit from the U.S. at a port of

entry or border checkpoint continuously referred to additional (secondary) screening

Necessary to reduce false positives, such as children, and government officials with names similar to those of known or suspected terrorists.

In the Law: Section 4012(a) of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA) required DHS to assume from airlines the comparison of passenger information to the Selectee and No Fly Lists and to use all appropriate records in the consolidated and integrated watch list that the federal government maintains

Estimated cost at $250 million as of now.