At a time when the airline industry is reeling from record fuel costs, the United States Government proposes to add yet another item to the cost of doing business: collecting biometric information from all non-U.S. citizens departing this country. The idea is called U.S. Exit Plan, and it’s drawing the fire of the airline industry.
The International Air Transport Association minced no words in condemning the idea. “Border protection and immigration are government responsibilities,” says Giovanni Bisignati, Director General and CEO of the International Air Transport Association. “Airline counter staff are not a substitute for trained border patrol officers.” He contends: “outsourcing exit formalities is not a responsible approach.”
Under the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) notice of proposed rule making non-U.S. citizens who provide biometric identifiers for admission to this country must also “provide digital fingerprints when departing the country from any air or sea ports of departure”.
“The 9/11 Commission called for biometric entry and exit records,” says Michael Chertoff, Homeland Security Secretary. The motive: to confirm travelers are who they say they are, and to confirm the reason they’re traveling. Moreover, the government wants to ensure that a person who was in the country for a set period of time has – in fact – left.
The proposed rule would mandate that commercial airlines and cruise ship owners collect and transmit visitors’ biometric data to DHS within 24 hours of a passenger leaving the U.S. The majority of non-U.S. citizens are already required to submit digital fingerprints and a digital photo for admission into this country.
Airlines don’t appear to be fighting the notion that security is critical. It’s more a matter of the government outsourcing the responsibility, and the attendant costs, of that security – especially at a time when the industry is under severe financial pressure.
Is there a middle ground, one that ensures security and doesn’t put an undue burden on airlines and passengers alike? Roger Dow hopes so. He’s President and CEO of the Travel Industry Association.
While he says TIA “is committed to working with the Department of Homeland Security and other interested parties to ensure that a biometric exit system is developed as expeditiously as possible,” he adds “a stalemate between the government and the airlines – which threatens expansion of the Visa Waiver Program – is not an acceptable outcome”. He wants the industry and the government to work together on security in a way “that does not add new burdens to an already challenging air travel process”.
This one bears very close watching. Cheap Flight News will keep you abreast of developments.
© Cheapflights Ltd Jerry Chandler
