How will Secure Flight affect you?

Under the Secure Flight program, you will be asked to provide :

• your full name
• date of birth
• gender and
• Redress Number (if known) when making a reservation to travel.

TSA determined through extensive testing that providing the additional data elements of date of birth and gender would greatly reduce the number of passengers misidentified as a match to the watch list. After making a reservation, most passengers will not experience any differences from the way they travel today as a result of the Secure Flight program.

This information is sent to TSA, who will match it against the watch list. By conducting watch list matching itself, TSA is able to more effectively and consistently prevent known or suspected terrorists from boarding an aircraft where they may jeopardize the lives of passengers and others.

Without Secure Flight, each aircraft operator conducted its own matching process, sometimes resulting in some inconsistencies in the matching and in coordination of law enforcement responses. Secure Flight is expected to enhance security while facilitating travel for the rest of the general public.

Protecting your privacy

Please be assured that the privacy of individuals’ information is a cornerstone of the Secure Flight program as TSA guards the privacy of individuals by adhering to the letter and spirit of privacy law, treating individuals and their personal privacy information with respect, ensuring a high standard of privacy protection, and responding effectively to public concerns.

If you would like to know more about these changes, please  visit TSA’s Secure Flight website where you can find a detailed program overview, travel tips, frequently asked questions, and more.