Secure Flight notice very confusing

[Laz]

I thought I would pass this along to my fellow Disers:


I got this notice from an airline via an E Mail:

Recently, the Transportation Security Administration announced changes to their watch list matching process called Secure Flight. The mission of Secure Flight is to enhance the security of domestic and international air travel through the use of improved watch list matching. Another benefit will be greatly reduced incidents of passengers being misidentified with names on the TSA's watch lists.

What does this mean for me?
Starting today, when purchasing a ticket you will be required to provide your full first, middle and last name, exactly matching the valid government-issued ID you will present at the airport (e.g. driver's license, passport, etc.).
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I have tickets on two different airlines thay I purchased months earlier. I called both airlines and got different answers from both. One stated that because I didn't have my middle initial on the ticket but on my license, I had to get the ticket reissued. The other said don't worry about it. I went to the TSA web site and found this:

Secure Flight requires that domestic aircraft operators request and collect passengers names as it appears on their government-issued I.D. when traveling as of May 15, 2009, and date of birth and gender as of August 15, 2009 for their domestic flights. For international flights, name, date of birth, and gender must be requested and collected as of October 31, 2000.

Passengers should ensure that the name, date of birth, and gender that the travel agency uses to book their travel exactly match the government-issued ID that the passenger plans to use when traveling. If the information does not match, the passenger should make the necessary changes to the booking in order to avoid unnecessary delays and extra steps when checking in for their flight.

Then this:

Secure Flight does not require that the names on all of your IDs be identical. Passengers should provide their name as it appears on their government-issued ID they plan to use when traveling. This provides TSA the best information possible to use when performing watch list matching. This will result in a better process for travelers and greatly reduces the number of misidentifications. By adding date of birth and gender, the number of misidentifications is reduced further and can more readily identify passengers who do not pose a threat.

www.tsa.gov

Being even more confused, I called the TSA directly and was told that I should not worry on tickets purchased already and some airlines do not yet have the ability to add middle names or initials on tickets. TSA agent suggested that in the future you reserve the ticket exactly as you ID shows your name

It is all so confusing

 

[dioxide45]

I thought I would pass this along to my fellow Disers:


I got this notice from an airline via an E Mail:



I have tickets on two different airlines thay I purchased months earlier. I called both airlines and got different answers from both. One stated that because I didn't have my middle initial on the ticket but on my license, I had to get the ticket reissued. The other said don't worry about it. I went to the TSA web site and found this:



Then this:



www.tsa.gov

Being even more confused, I called the TSA directly and was told that I should not worry on tickets purchased already and some airlines do not yet have the ability to add middle names or initials on tickets. TSA agent suggested that in the future you reserve the ticket exactly as you ID shows your name

It is all so confusing

Read this already existing thread. You can skip over the posts of hysteria.

 

[kevgraub]

In my mind, it really boils down to this:

TSA is in the process of taking over the screening for the "watch list" instead of the airlines doing it themselves now.

One of the steps in this process is that TSA wants to eliminate so many of the false positives that come up when someone has the same, or similar, name to someone that is supposed to be on the watch list.

To achieve that goal, TSA is starting to require airlines to collect more information so that a more detailed matching process can occur. Rather than flagging every "Robert Smith" that buys a ticket to fly, TSA wants to just flag the one "Robert Smith" that, for whatever reason, ended up on the watch list.

The first step in this process is requiring airlines to start collecting middle names of individuals and ensuring that the full name matches the name that is on the photo ID when you check in. The second step, coming in August, is to collect your gender and your date of birth.

At this time, all that TSA is requiring is that the airlines start collecting this information and shift their systems over so that this info is obtained. At some point in the future, TSA will require the ID you hand the ticketing agent at the gate have the exact same information (full name, gender, date of birth) as what you provided when you booked. This will help to insure, at least in the TSA's mind, that the person checking in really is Robert Allen Smith, Male, Born 1/1/75, and not the Robert Alfred Smith, Female, Born 2/2/87 that is on the watch list. Robert Allen Smith will not be singled out for additional screening and/or be denied boarding because he has a similar name to Robert Alfred Smith.

The media, aided by less than clear info from the TSA and the airlnes, ran with the story without fully understanding what was going on. It created fairly widespread confusion, if not panic, for some people.

The impact on people flying at this time is non-existant. The recent changes only affect the process of purchasing tickets at this time. The airlines are starting to collect the middle names at this point, but the TSA is not yet at the point where that information is critical for getting on a plane. The TSA, wisely in my opinion, is implementing their plan in steps, rather than just making all sorts of new, hard and fast requirements on airlines and passengers at one time.

 

[tkldisney]

I got an e-mail from Airtran this morning regarding updating our profiles for the new secure flight starting June 1. I checked our Dec. flights and the names match exactly on license and flights.

The thing I noticed, since it's time to renew our passports, they have full name including middle name where everything else, including our DL we use middle initial. We normally sign everything using just middle initial. I noticed on dh's passport he only used middle initial for signature, I signed with full name. Okay, does that mean he can still book everything using just initial or do we have to start booking everything with full name? Our DL both have middle initial, so until they are renewed we'll keep using initial unless we travel international. Guess I'll have to call and find out. He's used his passport without any issues, but don't know if he should sign new one exactly as issued or is it okay to use initial.

 

[aubriee]

I am an A+ Rewards member with Air Tran. I got an email from them yesterday with basically this same information in it. They then asked me to log onto my A+ Rewards profile and update the profile. When I did, it asked for the full name on my passport and the passport number, as well as my DOB and sex. Because my passport has my first, then middle, then last name, my driver's license (which is the ID I use at the airport) has my first, then maiden, then married last name, but the airline tickets I bought for my upcoming trip has just my first and last name, I decided to call them. None of the three match exactly. The rep told me she would change my ticket to match my driver's license and that they needed all three in my A+ Reward profile. She then told me that if in the future I booked any international flights that I would need to book them in the full name that is listed on my passport, but if I was flying here in the states to book the tickets to match my driver's license, (if that was the ID I was going to use). She also said though that it wasn't the airlines doing it, that TSA would be checking IDs out, as soon as each person booked a flight. After she updated my profile with both the name that is on my passport and also the one that is on my driver license, I asked her if there would be a space for either my middle or maiden name the next time I booked airline tickets. She hesitated and said that as long as I logged in first, that my first, maiden, then last name should appear automatically. I then asked her what about if I needed to book an international flight. She again hesitated and said I would probably need to call in and have a rep put the right name in.