WASHINGTON — The government will take responsibility from
airlines for checking passenger names against terrorism watch lists
and will begin testing its system within two months, the
Transportation Security Administration announced Thursday.

The new system, called “Secure Flight,” will verify
domestic travelers’ identities by comparing passenger
information supplied to the airlines against government
databases.

The goal is to reduce the number of people selected for
additional screening at airports and more accurately target those
who require additional checks.

Secure Flight replaces a much-maligned previous TSA proposal
known as CAPPS II, for Computer-Assisted Passenger Pre-screening
System. Critics said it had insufficient privacy protections.
Unlike CAPPS II, the new system will not seek to identify anyone
other than known or suspected terrorists.

Civil libertarians complained that CAPPS II would use
information on passengers gleaned from commercial databases. TSA
said a “very limited test” will be conducted to see if
comparing passenger information against such databases “can
help to more accurately verify the identity of
individuals.”

The Sept. 11 commission set up by Congress to investigate the
terror attacks said in its final report that the government needs
to take over passenger screening from the airlines.
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