How’s this for a scary statistic? According to USA Today, the government’s terrorist watch list hit 1 million listings in March. Ah, but not so fast. Because so many suspected terrorists have multiple aliases, the list actually represents about 400,000 individuals, according to FBI officials. And since the government accidentally tags so many innocent people — 33,000 listings were removed from the list last year by the FBI Terrorist Screening Center — the number of actual terrorists is likely much, much lower.
That’s good news for all of us. But for innocent folks whose names match those on the list — including such well-known individuals as the late Senator Ted Kennedy — air travel (and any other kind of border crossing) can devolve into a Kafka-esque nightmare of multiple screenings and endless bureaucratic run-arounds.
Now, there’s hope for these beleaguered travelers. A new TSA program called the “Secure Flight” initiative is an attempt by the U.S. government to beef up security and cut down on the number of passengers being misidentified on terrorist watch lists. What this means is that beginning in 2010 (early in the year for domestic travel; by the end of the year for international) the name on your airline ticket will have to precisely match the name on your official identification, whether you use a passport or a driver’s license.
For example, if you’re flying domestically, and your driver’s license reads “John Q. Public,” you’ll have to make sure your airline ticket includes that middle initial. If you’re using your passport for ID, and it lists your full middle name, your airline ticket will have to replicate that version of your name. You’ll additionally be required to supply your birth date and gender. Those who’ve been incorrectly tagged as terrorists can also provide their “redress number” (a form of TSA identification) if they wish.
Sounds simple, right? Again, not so fast. Here’s a personal example that serves as a cautionary tale.
Two weeks ago, as I was heading to Miami to hop on a cruise, I decided to test the new system. I made ticket reservations under the name “Pauline Hadley Maud Frommer” (make fun of my parents, please, for that mouthful of a name), which is what appears on my passport. Everything seemed fine until I tried to check in online the night before the flight, when I found that there was no reservation under “Frommer.” I thought the problem might be with my reservation number, but after an hour of fruitlessly pecking away at the computer, I finally called the airline and found out that my last name had been entered as “Hadley Maud Frommer.”
I’m glad that I had the foresight to check in the night before, as it took me at least an hour and a half to get the confusion untangled. Had I waited until the morning of the trip to check in, I might have missed my flight.
I’m guessing that snafus such as this one are going to be pretty darn common and that there will be endless variations of this sort of problem. According to David Castelveter of the Air Transport Association, the airlines will start collecting information on you the first time you book a ticket. If the info they have doesn’t match what you’ve given them (if, for example, you book three tickets using just your middle initial, and then try to book a fourth with your full middle name, using the same credit card), you may be denied the right to check in online.
Or, the problems could occur at the security line. If you print out your boarding pass in advance, but the TSA agents find that it doesn’t match the name on your ticket, you’ll likely be singled out for extra screening. According to Castelveter, the TSA has said that they won’t send you back to the check-in counter to change the name on your ticket. But, to me, that seems like a logical, if time-wasting, solution that the TSA may end up resorting to.
All in all, it looks like it’ll end up being an interesting balancing act between redressing the wrongs done to the few and piling on extra airport hassles for the many. What’s your take? Are these changes a step forward in security or a move toward chaos? Share your thoughts with other travelers in the comments section.
I wonder if the transition to this new initiative will get pushed back at the first sign of process snafus (which is what I'm expecting), similar to the continual postponements of the passport initiative (which required all US Citizens to have a passport for re-entry into the US).
I am amazed that I still hear from (U.S.) travelers who are disgruntled over the need for a passport (really? you don't think you should have to have one?) so I can only imagine the nightmare of total chaos that will happen when those same Silly Sally's (no offense to any Sally's out there) start arguing with airline and TSA personnel because they don't see why just matching part of their name isn't good enough.
To be on the safe side, I'm going to start getting to the airport three hours early.
This post was mentioned on Twitter by PaulineFrommer: Will the "Secure Travel" initiative (starting in early 2010) make air travel even more chaotic? See http://bit.ly/H9SPU
Hi Trisha: It's actually already been pushed back several times. This program was supposed to debut five years ago!! But it kept being tabled because of logistical problems. I'm not convinced, as you can see from the blog, that all the problems have been solved. But it looks like the TSA is going to push this through this time (from everything I've heard). I guess we'll have to wait and see! And yes, I totally agree on the passport issue!!
This program is eagerly awaited. Top personalities of India recently were subjected to further detention and scrutinization in USA due to their name/surname blinking on security computers at major airports. One can't be more careful these days but a more robust detection system need to evolve.
Pauline what may be needed is a sharing of info globally and cross-checks in real-time(translated in minutes).
Very interesting thoughts Bally. I've long felt that the TSA screeners in the US needed to be better integrated with actual law enforcement forces. But that would require much better training for them, and, higher pay (so that the government could recruit a force of well-educated employees with the technology skills and law enforcement background this more involved new role would require). Until that happens, I don't know how we in the US would have the manpower for the sort of information you're suggesting (though, of course, your suggestion is a logical one).
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Secure Flight is a joke.
It results in the government collecting more information about people but doesn't make us any safer. How does knowing the difference between John Public and Jon Q Public allow the government to know which one is a terrorist? It doesn't. A terrorist who is wanted isn't going to use a real name to book a flight. That would be stupid.
Plus what about the millions of people who don't have driver's licenses or passports? It's greater than you think. This is just one more hassle for law-abiding passengers to have to tolerate simply to go to grandma's house for Thanksgiving.
We don't need all this security theater at airports. All we need are simple checkpoints at which firearms can be detected. In other words, the same security we had before 9/11. Everything put in place since then is just a waste of time. All the money we've spent on security theater is far better directed to police work to find terrorists BEFORE they get to the airport.
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