A New Meaning for Safe Travel

If you’re flying out to your next meeting, or out for the holidays, rest assured you will be traveling a lot safer from now on.

In October 2009, all airlines were given a grace period to clear out their systems of older reservations made before the implementation of Safe Flight requirements which ended this November. Most of us are familiar with TSA, however many for many of us Secure Flight is an unfamiliar name. Secure Flight is TSA’s behind-the-scenes watch list matching program. They are responsible for establishing a consistent watch list system to keep all traveler’s safe and of course prevent terrorists from flying, thus preventing a repeat of 9/11.

As of November 1^st passengers will need to provide Secure Flight Passenger Data at the time of booking. This required information includes passenger’s full name (as it appears on government-issued ID), date of birth, gender and Redress Number (if applicable). According to the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA), a Redress Number is a unique number that helps TSA eliminate watch list misidentification. It is needed only if you have a name similar to or the same as a name on the current terrorist watch list.

Because travelers provide their Secure Flight Passenger Data at the time of booking their flight, there are no additional steps. Airlines will need to provide the required information to TSA 72 hours before each flight, giving Secure Flight ample time to conduct watch list matching. Here’s how it works, if you are issued a boarding pass, you are good to go. However, if any information is missing or not provided, you will not receive a boarding pass. It’s as easy as that. In order to avoid any delays, be sure to complete all required information to ensure you get a flight and get to you destination. To learn more about the Secure Flight Process visit the TSA website at www.tsa.gov/secureflight.