Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced nowadays that beginning May 15 the Secure Flight traveler vetting program will begin asking passengers to enter their name – as it appears on the management issued identification they will be traveling with – when making airline reservations.

This is the first publicly-noticeable step in implement the multi-phase Secure Flight program which shifts pre-departure watch list matching responsibilities from individual aircraft operators to TSA. The Secure Flight program satisfies a key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission, and congressional requirements from the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 and the 9/11 Commission Act signed into law in 2007.

By attractive and reformation the watch list matching process, the Secure Flight program makes travel safer and easier for millions of Americans," said TSA Acting manager Gale Rossides. "During this phase of the Secure Flight program, passengers are encouraged to book their reservations using their name as it appears on the government-issued ID they will use while traveling.

The second phase of Secure Flight begins August 15, 2009 when passengers will be required to enter their date of birth and gender when booking airline flights.

Once Secure Flight's advanced technology is fully implemented in early 2010, enhanced watch list matching will be done by the government. Airlines will gather a passenger's name, date of birth, and gender when making an airline reservation to determine if the passenger is a match to the No Fly or Selectee lists. By providing the additional data fundamentals of gender and date of birth, Secure Flight will more effectively help prevent misidentification of passengers who have similar names to individuals on the watch list and better identify individuals that may pose a known or suspected threat to aviation.