Traveler Beware: Secure Flight Program is Mandatory

Secure Flight is a behind the scenes program that enhances the security of domestic and international commercial air travel through the use of improved watch list matching. Since the implementation of the Transportation Security Administration Secure Flight program last fall, airlines have collected and been transmitting Secure Flight Passenger Data to the TSA.

TSA is moving into the next phase of Secure Flight which requires 100 percent of passengers traveling on any airlines flight to provide Secure Flight Passenger Data (SFPD) for all reservations booked for travel November 1, 2010 and beyond.  The TSA will make no exceptions; compliance is mandatory.

To ensure airlines complies with this security mandate, effective September 15, 2010, airlines will programmatically inhibit issuance of a ticket regardless of the ticketing system if the passenger’s Secure Flight data is not present in the PNR.

Attempts to Ticket without SFPD will generate an error message advising that the information must be collected. Secure Flight Passenger Data is collected and transmitted using an industry standard SSR DOCS format.  The mandatory information includes passenger name, date of birth, gender and redress number if available.