CONTACT: Caleb Tiller | 703-684-0836 ext. 38
Alexandria, VA (October 26, 2004) -- The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) this week filed comments with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on TSA’s proposed Secure Flight program. NBTA’s filing, which focuses on the potential impact of Secure Flight on businesses and business travelers, recommends that in implementing Secure Flight the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) should meet the operational and privacy issues identified by the U.S. Congress with CAPPS II, the previously proposed and subsequently discontinued passenger prescreening program.
The NBTA comments were filed during a 30-day comment period established by TSA when it announced a test phase of the Secure Flight passenger prescreening program. The Association based its recommendations on a review by its Data Protection Committee of TSA’s Privacy Impact Assessment of the test.
“NBTA is fighting to ensure that travel security measures simultaneously strengthen the security posture, protect civil liberties and avoid burdening business travelers or their companies with unnecessary costs” said NBTA President and CEO, Carol A. Devine, CCTE. “In discontinuing work on CAPPS II and announcing the test of Secure Flight, the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration have shown that they have heard the concerns raised by NBTA and other travel and citizens groups with the earlier proposed passenger prescreening program. Now is the time for the Department to carefully review the comments on Secure Flight and ensure that the program facilitates open and efficient travel.”
NBTA urged DHS to take the following measures:
- Reduce the possibility of mistaken identity by verifying accuracy of the Secure Flight database.
- Develop procedures for immediate redress of errors that can take place at the airport.
- Perform stress testing to ensure that Secure Flight can meet the travel demands of today and tomorrow.
- Develop safeguards to protect Secure Flight systems from abuse and unauthorized access.
- Establish effective oversight by creating a position within DHS to improve the Department’s communications with the travel industry.
- Identify and address all privacy concerns.
“For Secure Flight to be effective, it must be accurate and safe, it must meet increasing travel demands, and passengers must be sure that their privacy is protected and that they can address any errors immediately,” said Devine. “To help meet these concerns and address future travel security issues, NBTA recommends the creation of a position within the Department of Homeland Security that would serve as liaison to the travel industry and provide a consistent mechanism for industry stakeholders to give their input on programs of Homeland Security agencies that impact travel.”
Devine continued, “I thank the devoted volunteers who sit on NBTA’s Data Protection Committee. Their careful review of Secure Flight was invaluable in crafting NBTA’s filing.”
For a copy of the NBTA filing, members of the media can contact Caleb Tiller.
The National Business Travel Association is the source for critical information on the business travel industry. For more than 35 years, NBTA has dedicated itself to the professional development of its members through advocacy, education and training, and networking opportunities. NBTA represents over 2,500 corporate travel managers and travel service providers, who collectively manage and direct more than $170 billion of expenditures within the business travel industry.
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