Travel Security Update.

For more safety & security news, data and analysis, please go to: http://www.airguideonline.com/professional.htm Jul 17, 2006

US Department of Homeland Security is moving forward again with its proposal to require that it be given Advance Passenger Information for US-bound international flights before aircraft take off, a switch from the current policy that requires the information to be relayed within 15 min. after departure. DHS last year tried to impose a requirement that API data be transmitted 60 min. prior to departure, a step that would have required carriers to close flights 75 min. before departure, but retreated in the face of overwhelming airline resistance. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued yesterday would require carriers to forward flight data between 15 and 60 min. prior to departure. DHS said the proposal "simply changes the time within which the [passenger information] must be transmitted" and will allow US authorities "to identify terrorists before they are en route to the United States." The NPRM will be open to a 30-day public comment period. Jul 14, 2006

Opinion: Aviation security still inadequate. Bill Katovsky, author of "Patriots Act: Voices of Dissent and the Risk of Speaking Out," writes about a former counterterrorism whistleblower and his concerns that there are still vulnerabilities in the aviation system. Jul 13, 2006

New rule will check passenger names against terrorist list. Authorities will check the names of passengers headed from foreign cities to the U.S. against the FBI's comprehensive terrorist watch list before their planes take off, say Department of Homeland Security officials. Passengers' names are now checked abroad by airlines against a "no-fly list" that is not as complete as government watch lists. "We've turned back multiple planes in the past," says Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Michael Jackson. "This is a significant security improvement and a significant customer-service improvement." The new name-checking system will take effect by the end of the year. Jul 12, 2006

Registered Traveler slow to catch on. The Transportation Security Administration says it is ready to expand the Registered Traveler program, but many airports say they do not want to participate, The St. Petersburg Times' Steve Huettel writes. The Air Transport Association opposes Registered Traveler because the TSA hasn't approved new equipment to speed up waiting lines. "We are ... very concerned that the service providers and the TSA will overcommit and underdeliver at a high cost to some of our best travelers,'' ATA president and CEO James May says. Jul 12, 2006

US Wants Passenger Info Before Departure. US Homeland Security officials proposed on Wednesday making airlines transmit passenger names and other information to the government before an international departure, a change designed to keep suspected terrorists off US-bound flights. Jul 12, 2006

TSA, police disagree on who can prevent boarding. Houston police say it's the Transportation Security Administration's job to keep suspicious people from boarding flights. However, a TSA spokeswoman says screeners can stop people but rely heavily on local police. The two agencies disagree over who was at fault for allowing a man who appeared to have bomb components to board a plane at Houston's Hobby Airport. Jul 10, 2006

Delta Air Lines

US Soldier Restrained On Florida Flight. A US soldier recently returned from Iraq tried to force his way into the cockpit of a Tampa-bound Delta Air Lines jet and was subdued by other passengers, a Tampa Airport spokeswoman said on Friday Julty 7.. Jul 10, 2006

Phoenix airport

Phoenix screening system runs over cost. A new baggage screening system at Phoenix Sky Harbor is running over cost, and airport officials and the Transportation Security Administration disagree on who should pay for it. The cost of the system is now $143 million, up from the original estimate of $122 million. Jul 12, 2006 Segway

Airport police using Segway scooters on patrol. Officers at more than a dozen airports are using two-wheeled stand-up Segway scooters to get around. Segways are quick, and their electric motors give off no emissions. Critics say the Segways could be dangerous in a crowded airport. Jul 10, 2006