U.S. to Start Mandatory Airline Background Checks Soon
Homeland Security
officials say a government plan to check all airline passengers'
backgrounds before they board a plane could be fully implemented by
this summer. However, the decision to launch the controversial
system could bring the feds a lot of flack from air
travelers.
The new security procedure -- called The Computer-Assisted
Passenger Prescreening System, or CAPPS II -- seems to be so urgent
for the government to implement that it will continue to order
airlines to provide background information on their customers to
test the program, Homeland Security Undersecretary Asa Hutchinson
said Monday.
CAPPS II, would screen all passengers by checking that
information against commercial and government databases. Each
passenger would be given one of three color-coded ratings.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Hutchinson said he
wants to begin testing this spring. His spokesman, Dennis Murphy,
said the plan could be fully operational by summer.
This could add fire to a program, which has already plagued
those carriers who agreed to test it. Northwest Airlines, JetBlue
Airways and Delta Air Lines already have come under fire for
sharing passenger information with the government without letting
customers know. They were criticized for voluntarily passing
information in violation of their privacy policies.
Other U.S. airlines have been reluctant to cooperate with the
government because of those concerns and possible backlash from
passengers. CAPPS II that has been criticized by privacy advocates,
who contend it infringes on civil liberties and might wrongly label
people as security threats.
Jim May, president of
the Air Transport Association said it's imperative that protections
for passengers be in place before the government issues any
directives to make the procedure mandatory. He questioned whether
that could happen fast enough to allow full implementation this
summer. Top airline executives met at the Air Transport Association
last week to discuss their misgivings about CAPPS II and agreed to
work with the Homeland Security Department to ensure that traveler
privacy is protected.
Hutchinson said the government will work with airlines to deal
with their uneasiness but will compel them to participate.
"We expect at this point the airlines will want a clear rule or
directive from the government before they'd release information,"
he said.
European airlines already have agreed to provide data, he
said.
Testing would use old passenger data from the airlines'
reservation systems, spokesman Murphy said. If it should happen to
identify a terrorist suspect, Murphy said law enforcement officials
would be notified.
"The information that is given by a passenger to the airlines is
important for us to have - in terms of name, address, date of birth
- so we can properly assure the safety of a particular flight,"
Hutchinson said.