Travel Security Update.

Oct 30, 2006

Most visa-waiver countries meet deadline for e-passports. The Department of Homeland Security says 24 of the 27 countries eligible for the visa waiver program met Thursday's deadline for issuing smart-chip embedded e-passports. The U.S. will work with the remaining three -- Andorra, Liechtenstein and Brunei -- to make sure they meet the requirement as soon as possible. The new passports contain all the data on the paper version -- name, birth date, gender, etc. -- and can be read by digital scanners at equipped airports. Oct 27, 2006

TSA to start over with two anti-terrorism ID programs. The TSA has sent two anti-terrorism identification programs back to the drawing board and a third is being farmed out to private companies. The programs were supposed to check airline passenger names against watch lists and provide special identification cards to transportation workers. TSA chief Kip Hawley says the Transportation Worker Identity Credential, Secure Flight and Registered Traveler are back on track. Oct 26, 2006

Passport rule will stall trade, slow tourism, critics say. Opponents of a rule requiring U.S. citizens and foreigners entering the U.S. from Mexico and Canada to carry passports say the law will slow trade and confuse tourists. The State Department says the rule is part of a plan to improve border security, and it notes that passports are superior to other forms of ID because they cover more people and are difficult to counterfeit. Oct 25, 2006

Several busy airports request Registered Traveler program. Ten busy U.S. airports have asked the Transportation Security Administration if they can start Registered Traveler programs. However, some airports that have applied have not decided whether to start the Registered Traveler program, including Baltimore/Washington and Washington, D.C.'s Dulles and Reagan. The TSA must approve the airports and the companies that enroll passengers. Oct 25, 2006

National Guard troops work to secure California-Mexico border. National Guard troops along the California-Mexico border are building roads and fences and installing lights and cameras. Critics note that the troops have no weapons or power to enforce border security. The Department of Homeland Security has not issued a progress report on the project, but National Guard officials say fewer people are trying to cross the border. Oct 23, 2006

U.S. ambassador to Canada praises travel ID card. David Wilkins told a group at a Toronto Board of Trade meeting the planned U.S. passport cards will alleviate cross-border travel issues and that the government delayed implementation to review concerns voiced by travel and business interests on both sides of the border. The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative would require all Canadians and Americans entering the U.S. by air, land and sea to carry a passport or other secure identification card by June 2009. Oct 23, 2006

Northrop Grumman, L-3 Communications AVISYS

Three firms receive contracts for anti-MANPADS technology. L-3 Communications AVISYS, Northrop Grumman Space Technology and Raytheon have received contracts from the Department of Homeland Security to evaluate technology to counter man-portable air-defense systems, or MANPADS. The companies will work with the Department of Defense and DHS to determine which systems would work in civilian aviation. Oct 25, 2006

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Editor: Aram Gesar, eMail: [e-mail]

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Oct 23, 2006