Dear Travel Partner,
 

Since last fall’s implementation of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Secure Flight program carriers have collected and transmitted Secure Flight Passenger Data (SFPD) to the TSA.

Under Secure Flight, the TSA prescreens passenger full name, date of birth, gender, and redress number (if available) against government watch lists for domestic and international flights. As such, it requires all airlines flying to, from or through U.S. airspace to transmit SFPD regardless of the sales distribution channel through which the reservation is booked.

What is a Redress Number?
Redress is an opportunity for passengers who believe they have been improperly or unfairly delayed or prohibited from boarding an aircraft to seek resolution and avoid future delays. The affected passengers often have the same or a similar name to someone on the watch list. The DHS Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (TRIP) provides a one-stop shop for passengers seeking redress. Secure Flight uses the results of the redress process in its watch list matching process to help prevent future delays for misidentified passengers.

The TSA program is moving into anew phase, which requires 100 percent of passengers traveling within the United States and its territories to have SFPD in reservations booked for travel November 1, 2010, and beyond. The TSA allows no exceptions; compliance is mandatory.
Secure Flight data must be present in a reservation no later than 72 hours before scheduled departure, when the TSA match-list processing begins. If a reservation is made within 72 hours of scheduled departure, SFPD must be collected when the reservation is made. It is highly recommended that no matter when the reservation is made, SFPD is entered into the reservation at the time of booking.

To learn more about the TSA Secure Flight program, please visit www.tsa.gov/secureflight.