Airports Leery on Traveler Registry

By Thomas Frank

Only one of the USA’s busiest airports has signed up for a much-vaunted program to speed travelers through checkpoints, while at least a half-dozen others are balking at an idea that they say won’t work.

The lack of sign-ups could threaten the Registered Traveler program, pushed by Congress for years as a way to speed up post-9/11 security lines by giving minimal inspections to air travelers who pass a background check.

“The program is far less appealing and less effective if only a handful of airports offer it,” said Chicago O’Hare International Airport spokeswoman Wendy Abrams.

A lack of support raises the prospect that the program may not become a nationwide network that gives participants a quick pass through security. Four major airports have already said no, four more say they are skeptical and a dozen others are undecided even as the program prepares for its debut.

“We have yet to see anybody lay out in definitive terms something that is viable,” said Jim Crites, executive vice president of operations at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

San Francisco International Airport spokesman Mike McCarron said, “We don’t see a huge benefit.”

The Transportation Security Administration plans to start approving Registered Traveler programs at airports on June 20 at a time when airports fear long security lines will delay summer travelers. But so far only one of the nation’s top 20 airports, Orlando, has signed up and hired a company to run its program.

Under Registered Traveler, participants who pay a fee and pass a background check will be able to use a biometric card to enter a reserved security line. The TSA has not said what checkpoint procedures will be waived.

“Unless the TSA is willing to accept improvements in the screening process, then there’s really no incentive for a businessperson to spend $100 to be a Registered Traveler,” said Tim Anderson, deputy executive operations director at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Airports have the option to sign up for the voluntary program but must abide by guidelines set by TSA. The agency wouldn’t comment Tuesday on the lack of sign-ups but said it plans later this week to spell out the guidelines that participating airports will have to follow.

Bill Connors, executive director of the National Business Travel Association, said he thinks support for the program could still pick up.

“If momentum gains — and it will — airports will be hard-pressed to be competitive without this service,” he said.

Airports in Los Angeles, Cincinnati, San Jose and Indianapolis say they intend to start Registered Traveler this summer.

Randy Walker, director of Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport, said Registered Traveler could make security lines longer for passengers not in the program.

“I don’t think we should create a longer wait in line for the majority of people to provide a shorter line for a few people,” Walker said.

(c) Copyright 2005 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.