Amy Tourand, a corporate travel director for Carlson Marketing Co. of Minneapolis, sometimes feels “like I spend the majority of my life at the airport.” So, when Northwest Airlines offered her a chance to be part of the Registered Travelers pilot program, she jumped at it.
The program, instituted by the Transportation Security Administration, is being implemented on an experimental basis this summer in five airports—Minneapolis—St. Paul International, Los Angeles International, Boston’s Logan International Airport, Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., and George Bush International in Houston. It was launched in Minneapolis on July 7.
Volunteers like Tourand provide the TSA with personal information, including name, address, phone number, and date of birth, as well as biometric data such as a fingerprint and an iris scan. If the volunteer passes a security assessment, he or she is able to register with the program. Registered travelers are then able to go through an expedited screening process at specially designed lanes in their home airports.
The TSA hopes the program will both enhance passenger security and expedite the screening process for frequent travelers. Once the pilot program is complete (it will last 90 days at each airport) the TSA will evaluate the results and decide whether to implement the program on a broader level.
For more on the Registered Travelers pilot program, see the August issue of Corporate Meetings & Incentives.