Double Whammy

Air Safety Week, April 4, 2005

Secure Flight, also known as CAPPS II, may not be ready for deployment, based on two reports issued late last month. One, published by the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General, said the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) did not have privacy protections in place when it transferred passenger data to contractors. The other, published by the Government Accountability Office, shows that the TSA will likely be unable to launch the program in August; the ability to match airline data against watch lists, the reliability of those watch lists, the privacy impact and costs remain uncertain.

TSA says the Secure Flight system requirements will be finalized in April, based on watch list and commercial data testing slated to begin in late March.

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