New US airport security measures announced

The Secretary of United States Homeland Security Michael Chertoff  announced today a new level to the airport security screening process, where people would have to provide personal information to prove they are not on any terrorist watch lists. The measures are said to solve the problem that mistakenly identifies citizens that have names that are similar to or the same as names on terrorist watch lists. The one-time scrutinizing would then save them any future hassles from similar incidents at airports.

As of now, the process is voluntary and airlines can choose whether or not they make use of the system, which if it should happen a passengers name appears on a watch list and they prove they are not in fact a terrorist, they would have the option of allowing the airline to store their names and birthdates to their records.

The Air Transport Association’s David Castelver says, “We’re encouraged there is another process to improve service. The airlines will need to learn more about the program to determine to what extent they can use it.”