American Airlines and Dallas/Fort Worth Airport will be part of the government's new "trusted traveler" airport security program this fall.
Transportation Security Administrator John Pistole said Thursday that the government will conduct a pilot program that will allow certain travelers who volunteer more personal information to proceed through expedited screening."Enhancing identity-based screening is another common-sense step in the right direction as we continue to strengthen overall security, and improve the passenger experience whenever possible," Pistole said.The pilot program will be available to certain American Airlines' frequent fliers who are flying through DFW and Miami International Airport. Delta Air Lines will also participate in the pilot program, allowing certain frequent fliers traveling on Delta through Atlanta and Detroit to bypass some security screening.The airlines will determine which passengers will be eligible for the program, which the Transportation Security Administration said is limited to U.S. citizens and is voluntary. The TSA said it anticipates that 5,000 to 8,000 travelers per day will participate in the trial, which is also open to three other government trusted-traveler programs: Global Entry, NEXUS and SENTRI. For security reasons, the TSA will not say what specific screening measures participants would avoid. And participation in the program in no way exempts the travelers from any security measure, the agency said. Furthermore, the level of screening may vary each time a participant flies.The new program represents the Obama administration's first attempt at a more risk-based, intelligence-driven passenger screening program that could respond to travelers' complaints that the government is not using common sense when it screens all passengers in the same manner. The change comes amid a busy summer travel season and on the heels of public outcry over TSA screeners giving enhanced pat-downs to children and the elderly, people who ostensibly pose no security threat.The concern with any of these expedited programs is that someone could pose as someone else, for instance, by using identification that is forged or belongs to another person. The TSA does not have access to enough information to truly authenticate a traveler's identity, said J. Bennet Waters, president of Clear, an identity verification company operating in some airports.Waters, a former senior TSA and Homeland Security official, praised the Obama administration's announcement but said commercially available data under a public-private partnership should be used to validate travelers' identities. For privacy reasons, the TSA is not allowed to access that information.American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith said that the program's details are still being worked out."It will probably be initially offered to more frequent, premium, high-mileage travelers at first who will have to opt in," Smith said.The TSA said it plans to eventually expand the pilot to include United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways, US Airways, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, as well as additional airports.Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliott said the airline is eager to take part in the program and will tell members of its SkyMiles program about the offer."We're always looking for ways to improve our customer experience, and security is a large component of that," she said.Allowing certain frequent travelers to speed through security should help all air travelers, said Geoff Freeman, executive president of the U.S. Travel Association, an industry trade group."It should be a win for the traveler who doesn't even enroll because you've removed people from the line, you've sped up the entire process," Freeman said, adding that his organization would like checkpoint security to include biometrics, such as fingerprints or eye scans, to improve security. He also said any future program should be available to all travelers, and not just frequent fliers.But Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, said the pilot program won't noticeably speed up the security process because it is so small.Staff writer Andrea Ahles contributed to this report.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
