ACTE PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
ACTE: No Quick Resolution For Biz Travelers On TSA's No Fly List
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Alexandria (Dec. 3) Business travelers who learn at the airport they are on
the Transportation Security Administration's "No-Fly" List -- albeit
erroneously -- will have no recourse nor resolution in time to make their
flight. In fact, they will not be able to fly at all until completing a
5-step process that may span days or even weeks. According to a statement
issued today by Garth Jopling, President of the Association of Corporate
Travel Executives, "Corporate America is going to require a better system,
especially as more business travelers are detained at the airport."
And the number of business travelers on the "No Fly" list does appear to be
growing. The issue surfaced at a recent ACTE Forum in San Francisco (Nov.
17), when participating travel management executives asked the association
to intervene with the TSA for a clear-cut resolution procedure. The TSA
responded with the following procedure:
1) A person may contact the Office of the Ombudsman if that person has been
delayed when checking in for a boarding pass due to the No Fly List and
Selectee List clearance procedures.
TSA Headquarters
601 South 12th Street - West Tower, TSA-22
Arlington, VA 22202
(866) 2-OMBUDS
Email: [email protected]
2) The Office of the Ombudsman will ask the person to explain their
experience to ensure that the delay they encountered is of a type that may
be addressed by these procedures. Once the Office of the Ombudsman confirms
that the person's experience may be addressed by these procedures, TSA will
send a Passenger Identity Verification Form to that person for completion
and return.
3) TSA requests that the person submit a completed Passenger Identity
Verification Form to the TSA, at the address shown on the TSA letter that
accompanies the form. This information may aid TSA's ability to expedite
the person's check- in process for a boarding pass. Please note that only
the person seeking expedited No Fly List and Selectee List clearance
procedures may submit the Passenger Identity Verification Form.
3a) The personal information requested on the Passenger Identity
Verification Form consists of two parts:
- The first part includes: name; current address; gender; place of birth;
date of birth; social security number; height; weight; hair color; eye
color; and home and work telephone numbers.
- The second part requires the person to submit notarized copies for at
least three of the following documents: passport (including number and
country); visa (including number and place of issuance); birth certificate
(including number and place of issuance)- If you select to use this
document, it must be a certified copy of the original; naturalization
certificate; certificate of citizenship; voter registration card; military
discharge paper; driver's license (including number and state of issuance);
government identity card (city, State, or Federal); or military
identification card.
- The Passenger Identity Verification Form also requires that the person
sign and date the submission under: (i) a Privacy Act notice that explains
the purpose and routine use of the information provided by the person; and
(ii) a statement attesting to the truthfulness of the information and that
knowingly and willfully making any materially false statement, or omission
of a material fact, can be punished by fine, imprisonment, or both pursuant
to 18 USC - 1001.
4) TSA will review the submission and reach a determination of whether the
Expedited No-Fly List and Selectee List clearance procedures may aid in
expediting the person's check-in process for a boarding pass.
5) If the Expedited No Fly List and Selectee List clearance procedures will
aid in expediting the person's check-in process, TSA will contact the
appropriate parties, such as the airlines, to help streamline this process
for the person. TSA will also notify the person in writing of its finding.
While TSA cannot ensure that these clearance procedures will relieve all
delays, it should facilitate a more efficient check-in process.
5a) Persons who have received TSA's written notification that the check-in
process for a boarding pass has been streamlined should be aware that the
notification letter will not aid in their clearance at the check-in counter.
No Fly List clearance and Selectee List clearance at the check-in counter is
based solely on the information that TSA provides to the airlines.
5b) If you encounter continuing delays in the issuance of a boarding pass
during flight check-in, please contact Virginia Skroski in TSA Office of the
Ombudsman at: (571) 227-1449, or e-mail: [email protected] .
While the greater public emphasis has always been on traveler privacy, ACTE
has always contended that speedy resolution of false-positive readings would
be a crucial part of any passenger screening program. Travelers who are
denied boarding generate charges from canceled flights, missed meetings, and
perhaps lost objectives. "Furthermore, the apparent length of the resolution
process will remove executives from the traveling work force for unspecified
period f of time," said Jopling.
ACTE is measuring the membership assessment of the TSA's "No-Fly" list
resolution process in a survey of its US-based membership this week. This
issue and others (i.e. PNR security protocols and set limits to the extent
of PNR data to be submitted) will be the subject of an ACTE Traveler
Security Task Force meeting later this month.
To view the letter sent to Secretary Stewart Verdery by Garth Jopling click here.
To view the current No Fly List and Selectee List Clearance Procedures
from the TSA click here.
To view more information on the ACTE Traveller Security Task Force click here.
To view more information on ACTE's Executive Forum in San Francisco
click here.
For more information, contact:
Jack Riepe
ACTE Global Communications Director
t: 610-719-8396
c: 610-256-0124
e: [email protected]
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