Originally published February 26 2006
Frequent fliers may get their own airport security lanes
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Frequent fliers, such as business travelers, who are willing to go through a fingerprint and background check, may soon be able to obtain special cards that will allow them to go through their own airline screening lanes, operated by private companies, in order to avoid waiting in long lines with other passengers.
Frequent fliers willing to be fingerprinted and background-checked may soon get their own airline screening lanes run by private companies in the nation's airports, homeland security officials say.
The Transportation Security Administration Friday sketched out broad outlines of a nationwide Registered Traveler program that relies on private companies to issue the cards and run additional screening lines, as well as set prices and develop interoperability standards.
Applicants will undergo a government background check and submit 10 fingerprints which will be encoded onto a smart card.
When a cardholder enters the security lane, they will have their fingerprints compared to those stored on the card.
While cardholders will have dedicated screening lanes operated by private operators, they will still pass through metal detectors and have their bags x-rayed.
Airline screening procedures post-9/11 have irked business travelers who complain that wait times are long and unpredictable, and that lines are clogged by travelers unfamiliar with screening procedures.
Greeley Koch, president of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives, a group that represents business travelers, welcomed the announcement, but expressed concern that multiple operators and airport configurations could confuse travelers.
The TSA says companies that do so can offer to get their members through screening even faster, but did not specify how that would work.
Marcia Hofmann, an attorney with the Electronic Privacy Information Center, is waiting to learn further details, but counseled that the program needs to respect travelers' rights.
"Already the Registered Traveler program is exempt from certain important privacy protections that safeguard the rights of individuals," Hofmann said.
"The full protections ought to be in place whether the data is handled by the government or the vendors."
EFF attorney Lee Tien questions whether would-be terrorists will game the system and finds the whole initiative distasteful.
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