The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) welcomed the announcement of a traveler redress program by the Department of Homeland Security as a step in the right direction, but is reserving further judgment until the…
The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) welcomed the announcement of a traveler redress program by the Department of Homeland Security as a step in the right direction, but is reserving further judgment until the workings of the program are fully unveiled.
The Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (TRIP) was designed by the DHS to provide a central gateway to address watch list misidentification issues, situations where individuals believe they have faced screening problems at immigration points of entry, or have been unfairly or incorrectly delayed, denied boarding or identified for additional screening at transportation hubs.
ACTE has always maintained that a timely passenger redress program should be a critical part of any travel related security program, said association President Greeley Koch. Redress programs were not presented as integral parts of the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System II (CAPPSII), Secure Flight, the Registered Traveler Program, and the Automated Targeting System (ATS). For travelers who find themselves on the `No-Fly` list, the fastest means of redress takes a minimum of 30 days. Our membership will be pleased that ACTE`s recommendations were finally heard.
The ACTE president readily agrees that DHS TRIP is a step in the right direction, but then questions previously published statements about programs like the ATS, which was initially intended to be exempt from two key provisions of the Privacy Act. The ATS exemption would have precluded a traveler`s ability to search his/her background and to correct errors.
Hopefully, DHS now has a greater appreciation for the substantial amounts of corporate revenue that could be lost through unnecessary delays associated with misidentification, said Koch. The new redress program is being described as an easy to use, single point-of-entry through which passengers can report travel-related identity problems, said Koch. But the industry will need a program that generates results in less than 30 days.
Koch has offered ACTE`s services to the DHS as a beta testing control factor in evaluating the program before its February 20, 2007 release date. The most common unanswered question from our membership in 2006 remains, `How do I get a traveler off the No-Fly list?` said Koch. We may get that answer next month.
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