Could the summer air
travel season be impacted by a potential Congressional amendment?
The U.S. Travel
Association seems to think so.
And it could mean
significantly longer wait times at security checkpoints at airports.
Senators Jeff Merkley
(D-OR) and John Kennedy (R-LA) have proposed a controversial amendment to the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill that would hinder the use of biometric technology.
According to U.S.
Travel analysis, the proposed amendment could result in travelers
waiting an additional
cumulative 120 million hours in TSA checkpoint lines each year by significantly slowing both PreCheck and standard screening lanes. The amendment includes a proposal
to eliminate facial recognition.
And the last thing air
travelers want is to spend more time in the airport.
“The
proposed amendment to FAA reauthorization is dangerous, costly and threatens to
create chaos at America’s airports,” said Geoff Freeman, President and CEO of
the U.S. Travel Association. “Eliminating the use of biometrics – such
as facial scans – will set America back by decades and only misinformed members
of Congress are to blame.”
Hot-Button Issue
Facial recognition
technology is
a controversial topic, to say the least.
The U.S. Travel
Association contends that the Merkley/Kennedy Amendment would enforce a
complete and total ban on TSA's use of Facial Recognition Technology
(FRT) until the agency complies with certain requirements.
The proposal would
also ban the use of FRT for non-trusted travelers and stop expansion of FRT
matching technology to new airports until May 2027, while stopping expansion
and enrollment in TSA PreCheck Touchless Identity Solution beyond existing
customers at six airports where it is in use today.
“This
proposed legislation threatens to turn America’s airports into the equivalent
of college bars where fake IDs rule the day,” said Freeman. “TSA, to its
credit, is innovating with the latest security technology and members of
Congress are threatening to stand in its way–at the expense of the travel
experience.”
The senators have not
responded as of Friday morning.
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