Getting your player ready...
WASHINGTON — All 197 airlines that fly to the U.S. are now collecting names, genders and birth dates of passengers so the government can check them against terrorist watch lists before they fly, the Obama administration announced Tuesday.
Getting all air carriers that travel to or through the U.S. to provide this information marks a milestone in the government’s counterterrorism efforts and completes one of the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations.
The program, Secure Flight, has been delayed for years because of privacy concerns. It’s designed to give authorities more time to identify and remove suspected terrorists from flights and reduce instances when passengers are mistaken for people on watch lists.
