Beginning August 15, all domestic airline carriers will collect additional traveler information, during the booking process, and provide it to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) prior to travel. The data collected includes the traveler's full name, birthdate, gender and redress number, if available. Without this information, boarding passes will not be printed during online check-in and travelers can expect lengthy delays at screening checkpoints.
Is your company prepared to collect this data from your travelers?
Most companies have traveler profiles that reside within their online booking tool and with their travel management company. Will you upload birthdates from your ERP system or will you ask each traveler to update their profile manually? For most, it may be less time intensive to ask travelers to update their own profile because a direct data feed from your ERP may require additional coding.
Are travelers concerned about providing too much personal information?
Many of us are concerned with privacy and personal identifiable information. The birthdate will not be printed on the boarding pass; however, it will be stored with your travel management company, and passed to the airline and TSA. Once travelers add their birthdate to their profile, it should be masked so that it does not appear each time the profile is accessed.
What if travelers do not want to include this information or transmit it to TSA?
TSA does not require you to include this information in your travel profile; however, failure to provide the data will result in lengthy delays at screening checkpoints at all airports.
What is redress?
The Department of Homeland Security’s Travel Redress Inquiry Program (DHS TRIP) is a single point of contact for individuals who have inquiries or seek resolution regarding difficulties they experienced during their travel screening at transportation hubs--like airports and train stations--or crossing U.S. borders, including denied or delayed airline boarding, denied or delayed entry into and exit from the U.S. at a port of entry or border checkpoint or continuously referred to additional (secondary) screening.
To find out more about the Secure Traveler program, visit http://www.dhs.gov/files/programs/gc_1169673653081.shtm
If you want assistance updating your travel process and technology tools, contact me.
Debi Scholar, CMM, CMP, CTE, CTT
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Thank you for the update. This wasn't a story I was following. I appreciate your post.
Posted by: Meilee | July 24, 2009 at 12:05 PM