05/04/05

Airline passengers soon will be asked to provide their full names and birth dates when they buy tickets, information the government says it needs for a new computerized screening system. The Bush administration is moving ahead with plans to implement the system, called Secure Flight, even though concerns about privacy and other issues raised in a congressional investigation have not been fully addressed. A limited rollout of the program is set for later this year. As part of the Transportation Security Administration's effort to implement Secure Flight, the agency will, within weeks, require airlines to solicit passengers' full names and birth dates. Passengers do not have to provide it, but if they don't there's a better chance they'll have to undergo more stringent screening at the airport, said Justin Oberman, the TSA official who heads the program. Oberman said having passengers' full names and birth dates will make it less likely that they'll be confused with people who are known or suspected terrorists."[Editor's note: Gee, how about fingerprints and a retina scan?-MLS]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050504/ap_on_re_us/passenger_screening

from Yahoo! News


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp