April 21, 2006 | Privatized Registered Traveler On Track

Passengers willing to undergo perpetual government background checks in exchange for the promise of shorter screening lines at the airport will be able to register as soon as late summer in a corporate-run Registered Traveler program set to debut in ten to twenty airports.

The Transportation Security Administration announced the latest timetable and specifications Thursday. While each airport could be run by a different company, which will have to pay for its own security lanes, screeners and registration process, a traveler registered with one company will be able to use the lanes at other airports.

But the press release is vague on what the benefits for travelers will be:

In order to enter the RT program, applicants must provide biographic information, which will be verified and authenticated to safeguard against the use of a false or stolen identity. All applicants must undergo a TSA Security Threat Assessment that includes perpetual vetting. When traveling, an RT participant must confirm his or her identity at an RT station using biometrics (fingerprints or iris). RT participants will still be required to pass through the metal detector, have their carry-on and checked luggage screened, and will be subject to secondary screening by TSA if they trigger an alarm. Consistent with TSA policies, an element of randomness will also be integrated into Registered Traveler to ensure unpredictability and disrupt potential efforts by terrorists to thwart the system.

The release also alludes to benefits: "While the combination of benefits and security measures available at each participating airport may vary, all RT travelers should receive an expedited and more convenient checkpoint experience." However if participants still have to have their luggage checked and could get secondary screening randomly, I don't see what the benefits are? Shorter lines? Snappier dressed security personnel? Free Starbucks while waiting in line? The feeling that while we are all in this together, some of us are more all in this than others?

Posted by Ryan Singel at April 21, 2006 11:19 AM

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