Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano yesterday said that 100 percent of passengers on flights into and out of the United States are now being vetted against government watchlists by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), one month ahead of schedule.
Under the Secure Flight program, TSA screens a passenger’s name as it appears on their government ID they use when traveling, birth date and gender against terrorist watchlists before they receive their boarding passes. In June, the agency implemented Secure Flight for all domestic airlines.
“Secure Flight makes air travel safer for everyone by screening every passenger against the latest intelligence before a boarding pass is issued,” Napolitano said in a statement.
Prior to Secure Flight airlines were responsible for checking passengers against watchlists. This led to frequent problems with some passengers being flagged as being on a watchlist because their name matched one in the terrorist database. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that Secure Flight helps prevent the misidentification of passengers who have names similar to individuals on the watchlists.
DHS said that 99 percent of passengers are cleared to print boarding passes at home or at a self-serve kiosk under Secure Flight. Vetting is typically done in seconds. Individuals who are on a watchlist are subject to secondary screening, a law enforcement interview and possibly being barred from boarding a flight.