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Biometric Turbulence For U.S. Visitors
by Chris Strohm
Fasten your seat belts; there is turbulence ahead. The nation's airlines and air travel industry are scrambling to avert a looming battle with the Department of Homeland Security over how best to verify the identity of foreigners when they fly out of the country.
Homeland Security plans to issue a proposed rule Dec. 31 that would require the airlines to record departures from U.S. airports. The requirement would be part of the US-VISIT program, which is supposed to use biometrics such as fingerprint scans to verify when foreigners leave.
Under the rule, the airlines would have to install exit systems at their counters that consist of fingerprint readers and infrastructure to connect with the US-VISIT database. Airline personnel would have to ensure that foreigners give fingerprint scans before boarding their planes.
The airline industry will "vehemently oppose" the requirement, said David Castelveter, vice president of communications for the Air Transport Association. "We, the airlines, believe that all functions related to ... air travel security should be a function of the government," he said. "It's a national security issue."
A Wing And A Prayer
Biometric and biographical information on foreigners is put into US-VISIT, which does not apply to U.S. citizens, when they enter the country. But the government has never been able to verify when the foreigners leave the country, creating a security loophole.
Under an aggressive schedule, the department plans to publish a final rule June 30, 2008, and the airlines would have to begin compliance six months later, a US-VISIT spokeswoman said.
But industry sources hope the department might change its position now that its deputy secretary, Michael Jackson, is leaving. They said Jackson was the primary force pushing for the airlines to be responsible for the exit system. His resignation is effective Oct. 26.
Sources said the battle also could play out in Congress if the airlines make a concerted effort to seek regulatory relief through legislation. For example, the top Republican on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Floridian John Mica, already has expressed concerns about the department's plan and could be an ally for the airlines.
One alternative that recently has been floated is to incorporate the exit system into a so-called registered traveler program that offers speedier security checks for frequent flyers. They are privately operated programs that have staffed stations with kiosks at airports.
"It's a simple way around the confrontation that now seems to be looming," said Steven Brill, the founder of Verified Identity Pass, which operates the largest national registered traveler program. Brill said he proposed the idea to Transportation Security Administration Administrator Edmund (Kip) Hawley but has yet to hear back.
"Rather than spend enormous sums of money to install new kiosks to verify people's biometrics, with just some slight tweaks to the kiosks we already have installed, we could do that," Brill said. "What DHS is trying to do is get the airlines to spend millions and millions of dollars and hours and hours of time and personnel to do this new function when our kiosks are right there."
Of Costs And Technology
Brill said his company will have stations at up to 30 airports within a year. C. Stewart Verdery, a former Homeland Security assistant secretary, said incorporating the exit system at registered traveler stations is an "innovative solution" that might be "the best of both worlds."
Verdery, whose Washington lobby shop represents clients such as the National Business Travel Association, previously has called for putting the exit system at TSA checkpoints. He said TSA already has information technology infrastructure in place at its checkpoints and could handle any law enforcement situation that might develop.
But Homeland Security has rejected the idea so far. "Right now it doesn't look like TSA will be the best location because TSA has its own mission," the US-VISIT spokeswoman said.
Neither the airline industry nor the government has an estimate yet for what it will cost to get an exit system working at airports. The US-VISIT spokeswoman said the airlines should provide the department their cost estimates when they respond to the proposed rule.
Homeland Security plans to give the airlines fingerprint readers that currently are used for the US-VISIT entry system, she added. The readers take two fingerprints, while the department is upgrading to ones that take 10. But the airlines will have to pay costs associated with other technology and infrastructure upgrades to complete the exit system at their counters, she said.
Industry sources said the requirement could represent a bonanza for information technology companies, who are salivating at the idea of winning service contracts.
ATA's Castelveter said the department is out of touch with traveling trends and how the airline industry is changing to meet customer demands. He said airlines are moving away from counters to letting passengers check in electronically through handheld devices. "We don't want to absorb any further costs that we think should be absorbed by the TSA," he added.
Getting Started
Verified Identity's Brill argued that putting the exit system at registered traveler stations would be cheaper. He said his kiosks already have fingerprint scanners and are connected to TSA databases. "The infrastructure work is already done. The machines are there and they read prints."
He estimated it would cost between 10 cents and 35 cents per passenger to do the exit process at his stations -- an expense that he would expect the government to cover. "What we've said is if DHS will simply reimburse us for whatever the extra costs are of our people fulfilling this function, we'll do it."
Castelveter said the airline industry worries that costs associated with the exit system will ultimately increase passenger fares.
Brill acknowledged that his stations are not at every airport with international flights. But he said the government could begin the exit system sooner rather than later. "I'm not saying its 100 percent of the solution. But we're saying here's a way to begin to do this next month."
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