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A contemporary airline news article. "Speed Past Pesky Security Checks" by Ryan Singel, if the system is adopted, industry watchers expect the fee for a card to be around $50 to $100 a year. Airline news article from Wired News.
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Airline News
Speed Past Pesky Security Checks
By Ryan Singel
02:00 AM Jul. 07, 2004 PT
Some Twin Cities frequent fliers will have their own fast-track security lane starting Wednesday, but the cost of admission to the pilot program is a background check and a fingerprint or iris scan.
Critics say the price in privacy is too high, however, and that terrorists could exploit the program.
Today's the Day. More than 2,500 Northwest Airlines frequent fliers have received the airline news that testing of the Registered Traveler program, which the Transportation Security Administration hopes will speed up security screening for those willing to hand over their personal information to the government for checks against terrorist watch lists and law enforcement databases.
After being cleared, travelers at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport will be given a card with their fingerprint or iris print electronically embedded in the card.
They will, however, be immune from the current passenger-profiling system's extra screening process.
That system, known as CAPPS in airline news reports, uses watch lists and triggers to decide who will get extra screening. The CAPPS algorithms detect people with names similar to suspected terrorists and people paying with cash, making last-minute reservations or flying one way.
Those CAPPS-selected passengers then have "SSSS" printed on their boarding passes.
Airline news indicates EDS is being paid $1.31 million for six-month tests with American Airlines, starting in late August at Boston Logan International Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Enrollment in the test phase is free, but if the system is adopted, industry watchers expect the fee for a card to be around $50 to $100 a year.
from http://www.wired.com/
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