Alexandria, Va (Feb. 20) - "It's time for the Transportation Safety Administration to consult with corporate travel managers and privacy officers..." This is the conclusion of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives, following a special meeting held today with the TSA. ACTE leaders are attempting to head off a confrontation between the TSA and corporate America over possible CAPPS II violations of company privacy policies. A previous ACTE survey indicated that 78% of respondent travel managers said that the collection of PNR data in this manner could compromise corporate privacy policies.

"The time has come for the TSA to sit down and talk to business travel managers and corporate privacy officers before moving forward with any more plans to extract information," said Nancy Holtzman, ACTE's executive director. "We are in the process of assembling a working group of travel managers and corporate privacy officers to advise the TSA to avoid further confusion stemming from the development of CAPPS II.

ACTE has been studying the impact of CAPPS II on the business travel industry for the past year. ACTE's membership is not opposed to a passenger screening process in principle. In fact, an overwhelming 86 percent supported a prescreening program -- but not CAPPS II in its present form. The greatest opposition to CAPPS II has been generated by privacy groups. "We're studying the matter primarily from a business travel standpoint," said Holtzman. The association has previously expressed concern that delays from detained business travelers may represent a substantial cost to American companies.

"The travel industry is just beginning to see what those costs might be. Earlier this week, travel industry authorities indicated that TSA data requirements could cost millions in reprogramming systems and in training," said Holtzman. "The purpose of our working group is to provide the TSA with information that will lead to a more workable security process, while breeding less contention. We've been talking with the TSA on a regular basis for the last six months and think they will welcome our offer."

ACTE representatives at the meeting also learned that the parallel development of the "registered traveler" program will continue, and is not conditional upon the implementation of CAPPS II. A "registered traveler" program would allow travelers to submit detailed background data in exchange for an expedited security check at the airport.

Founded in 1988 as the research and educational resource for the business travel industry, ACTE has 2,500 members in 37 countries. The association is recognized internationally for it's statistics and studies on travel issues ranging from data privacy (CAPPS II) to airfare rationalization.


For more information or a complete set of ACTE/Industry surveys on CAPPS II, contact:
Jack Riepe
ACTE Communications Officer
t: 617-719-8396
c: 610-256-0124
e: [email protected]