Airlines to provide passenger information for new government security system test

Airline Industry Information, Sept 22, 2004

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

Personal information on passengers who took a commercial flight in the US in June 2004 will be turned over to the US government for use in testing a new anti-terrorism system.

The Transport Security Administration said that the new USD103m system would be a great improvement on a similar system previously tested which met with a negative response due to privacy concerns and technology issues.

Airlines and privacy groups are still sceptical however, saying that any system which assigns risk based on personal information is bound to affect innocent people and prevent them from flying for no reason, reports The Associated Press.

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