New information to supply your travel agent when booking a flight

On Oct. 28, 2008, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) published the Final Rule for the new Secure Flight passenger-screening program. This marks the culmination of an effort that began with Congressional passage of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Protection Act of 2004. This law required TSA to assume responsibility for conducting pre-flight comparison of passenger information to Federal government terrorist watch lists - a job that has until now been performed by the airlines. Secure Flight will match name, date of birth and gender information for each passenger against government watch lists to:

Identify known and suspected terrorists

Prevent individuals on the No Fly List from boarding an aircraft

Identify individuals on the Selectee List for enhanced screening

Facilitate passenger air travel

Protect individuals' privacy

After matching passenger information against government watch lists, TSA will transmit the results back to the airlines, giving them the authority to print boarding passes

Aug. 15, 2009
All domestic airlines and their travel agents are required to request all Secure Flight elements: full name (as used on the ID to be presented at the airport), date of birth and gender and optional Redress # in the DOCO field for all domestic reservations.

Oct. 31, 2009
All international airlines and their travel agents are required to request full Secure Flight elements: full name (as used on the ID to be presented at the airport), date of birth and gender in the Supplemental Remarks (SR) DOCS field and optional Redress # in the DOCO field for all international reservations.

If a reservation is ticketed on March 5, 2009 for travel on Dec. 23, 2009, you do not need to update the PNR with Secure Flight formats unless a change is made to the reservation after a deadline has passed.


This is because the airlines are required to transmit Secure Flight data to TSA 72 hours in advance of travel. For reservations made within 72 hours of a flight, TSA requires the airline to collect Secure Flight data at the time of the booking. The airlines will likely pass on this same requirement to travel agents.
There are three required Secure Flight data elements and one optional element. Last Name, Gender and Date of Birth are required. Redress Number is optional.

1. Full Name - Required
The name should match the government-issued identification the passenger intends to present at the airport prior to boarding. The government-issued ID is the controlling document; in all cases of doubt about the key information to collect, refer to the ID that will be used at the airport. You are not required to verify or validate the accuracy of the information given to you by your customer.
While travel agents are not required to examine IDs, travel agents should begin, and automated booking tools should be programmed, to prompt customers for their name as it appears on the government ID the traveler intends to present at the airport. A middle name is mandatory if the government-issued ID includes a middle name. If the passenger does not have a middle name, or if the passenger’s government-issued ID does not include a middle name, then it does not need to be collected.
Example: If the passenger's first name appears as a single character (e.g., "F. Scott Fitzgerald") on the passenger's government-issued ID, then that single character may be recorded. If, on the other hand, the passenger's ID includes a longer name, then that full name-and not the abbreviation-must be recorded (e.g., the first name of a passenger whose ID bears the name "Francis Scott Fitzgerald" may not be recorded as "F").
Prefixes and Suffixes
Prefixes and suffixes are not part of the Secure Flight rule and are not collected in the DOCS field. The DOCS field only includes elements for first, middle and last names. During the period May 15 – August 15 when names will be transmitted to the airlines the Name Field rather than the DOCS field, TSA has indicated that it will provide some flexibility with regard to prefixes and suffixes. Nonetheless, by August 15, travel agents should be prepared to follow TSA’s name collection rules for both the Name Field and the DOCS field. The name in both fields should match exactly. As a result, there should be no prefix or suffix in the Name Field since no prefix or suffix can be included in the DOCS field. 2. Date of Birth - Required The date of birth given should match the date of birth shown on the document the traveler plans to present at the airport.

3. Gender - Required
The gender given should match the gender shown on the document the traveler plans to present at the airport.

4. Redress Number — Optional
A Redress Number is a TSA-issued code given to certain passengers whose names have triggered "false positive" matches to watch lists in the past. Collection of a Redress Number is optional and you will not be required to solicit it. Nonetheless, you should update your online and paper customer profile to prompt travelers to provide it if they have one.
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Redress Program is called DHS TRIP and is a single point of contact for individuals who have inquiries or seek resolution regarding difficulties they experience at security check points. More information on the Redress Program can be found at www.dhs.gov/trip.
Applying for a redress number is the passenger's responsibility, not the travel agent. It is alright if a passenger, when asked, says "I don't have one."
© ASTA (IA-04242009)
4 Minors
You must ask for all ticketed passengers’ full name, gender and date of birth even if the traveler is a minor and does not have an ID. TSA does not require minors (17 and under) to present a photo ID to pass through security. The rule states that if the individual is “under 18 years of age and does not have a verifying identity document, TSA may, on a case-by-case basis, authorize the minor or an adult accompanying the minor to state the individual’s full name and date of birth in lieu of providing a verifying document.” While an ID is preferred for all travelers, and may help the minor and/or his guardian(s) to avoid secondary screening, it is not mandatory.
Children who travel regularly would be well advised to secure a state-issued ID under program available in all states.

Passenger Refusals
You are required to “request” Secure Flight data elements, and passengers can refuse to disclose this information in advance. If a passenger refuses to disclose, you may make the booking anyway, but you should tell the passenger that he/she will not be able to get a boarding pass either at home or at the airport until the information has been provided. Ultimately, this information will be collected at check in.
TSA’s ID Requirements for Airport Security Screening
While Secure Flight is focused on pre-travel terrorist watch list screening, it is inextricably related to airport screening procedures. Secure Flight data elements must match those presented during the security screening process.

TSA’s current screening procedures require all adult passengers (18 and over) to show a U.S. federal or state-issued photo ID that contains the following: name, date of birth, gender, expiration date and a tamper-resistant feature in order to be allowed to go through the checkpoint and onto their flight. The most commonly used IDs are U.S. passports and state-issued drivers licenses.
Acceptable IDs include:

U.S. passport

U.S. passport card

DHS "Trusted Traveler" cards (NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST)

U.S. Military ID (active duty or retired military and their dependents)

Permanent Resident Card

Border Crossing Card

DHS-designated enhanced driver's license

Drivers Licenses or other state photo identity cards issued by Department of Motor Vehicles (or equivalent) that meets REAL ID benchmarks (All states are currently in compliance)

A Native American Tribal Photo ID

© ASTA (IA-04242009) 5


An airline or airport-issued ID (if issued under a TSA-approved security plan)

A foreign government-issued passport

Canadian provincial driver's license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) card

Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)

Passengers who do not or cannot present an acceptable ID will have to provide information to the TSA Security Officer in order to verify their identity. Passengers who are cleared through this process may be subject to additional screening. Passengers whose identity cannot be verified by TSA may not be allowed to go through the checkpoint or onto an airplane.