U.S. Airlines Must Supply Travel Records by Nov. 23, U.S. Says
2004-11-12 11:59 (New York)
U.S. Airlines Must Supply Travel Records by Nov. 23, U.S. Says
By John Hughes
Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. airlines were ordered to hand
over records of all passengers who flew domestically in June so
the government can test a new system aimed at keeping terrorists
off airplanes. Carriers must comply by Nov. 23.
The records of the 72 carriers including AMR Corp.'s
American Airlines and UAL Corp.'s United Airlines include names,
addresses and itineraries, the Transportation Security
Administration said in an order today. The agency will compare
the passengers against government watchlists in a 30-day test of
the program called Secure Flight, slated to begin next year.
The program ``would identify passengers known or reasonably
suspected to be engaged in terrorist activity,'' said the order
signed by privacy officer Lisa Dean, and ``prevent them from
boarding a domestic flight.''
The government plans to replace the existing screening
system since terrorists boarded four commercial jets in the Sept.
11 attacks that killed 2,749. The government dropped a planned
earlier version called CAPPS II after privacy groups complained.
Privacy advocates also asked the government to suspend the new
version until more information on its workings can be disclosed.
--Editor: Simenhoff