UPI | The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced a way for people who don’t belong on terrorist watch lists to be spared extra scrutiny at the airport.
Under the new program, tens of thousands of travelers who are stopped repeatedly because their names match those of suspected terrorists will be permitted to register with the airlines, USA Today reported Monday.
Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff said once their names and date of birth have been added to company records, they will be treated like the rest of the flying public.
“After that, they will get their boarding pass just like everyone else does,” Chertoff said.
The downside is that travelers will have to provide their personal information to each airline they use and it is up to the airline to decide whether it wants to participate in the program.
“The airlines need to learn more about the program to determine to what extent they can use it,” said David Castelveter, a spokesman for the Air Transport Association.
