Secure Flight Program: Making Travel Safer

Secure Flight Program: Making Travel Safer

Secure Flight Website

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is currently implementing Secure Flight, a program developed to provide for uniform watch list matching by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).  By establishing one consistent watch list matching system, Secure Flight will enhance aviation security and help make travel easier for passengers.

How will Secure Flight affect passengers?

Under the Secure Flight program, passengers will be required to provide:

·         Full name (as it appears on passenger’s identification document)

·         Date of birth

·         Gender

·         Redress Number (if available)

Your airline will send the information you provide to TSA who will match it against terrorist watch lists.  Please note that boarding passes may not always display the exact information you provided when booking your travel.  This will not affect you when traveling.  The name you provide when booking your travel is used to perform watch list matching before a boarding pass is ever issued.

What are the benefits of Secure Flight?

Secure Flight makes travel safer by more effectively identifying individuals that may pose a known or suspected threat to aviation.  It also enables officials to address security threats sooner. Furthermore, by creating one watch list matching system, it helps prevent the misidentification of passengers who have names similar to individuals on terrorist watch lists.  Lastly, Secure Flight offers an improved redress process, so that those who are mistakenly matched to the watch lists can avoid problems in the future.

Protecting passenger privacy

The privacy of individuals’ information is a cornerstone of Secure Flight.  TSA collects the minimum amount of personal information necessary to conduct effective watch list matching.  Furthermore, personal data is handled in accordance with stringent guidelines and all applicable privacy laws and regulations.

Redress – for passengers who feel they have been misidentified

Those who believe they have been mistakenly matched to a name on the watch list are invited to apply for redress through the Department of Homeland Security Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (DHS TRIP).  Secure Flight uses the results of the redress process in its watch list matching process, thus preventing future misidentifications for passengers who may have a name that’s similar to an individual on the watch list.  For more information on the redress process, visit www.dhs.gov/trip.

To learn more about Secure Flight visit www.tsa.gov/SecureFlight.