Registered Traveler
Encyclopedia
The Registered Traveler Pilot Program was an airline passenger security assessment system tested in the United States
air travel industry in 2005. It was used in several U.S. airports in a voluntary pilot phase and continues in operation in several airports around the country. It is administered by TTAC, the Transportation Security Administration
(TSA) office responsible for Secure Flight, the replacement for the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System
(CAPPS) and the canceled CAPPS II counter-terrorism
system. Registered Traveler is a public and private partnership between the TSA and the Registered Traveler Interoperability Consortium (RTIC) providing rules and standards for private Enrollment Providers that sign up participants. At 11:00 p.m. PST on June 22, 2009, Clear (the largest of the three companies offering the Registered Traveler program) ceased operations because Clear and its parent company, Verified Identity Pass, Inc., have filed for bankruptcy.
In order to prevent a terrorist with a clean background from compromising the system, the TSA requires that registered travelers undergo the normal TSA screening (baggage x-ray and personal metal detector), at the RT kiosk checkpoint. Additionally, Registered Travelers are not exempt from random secondary screening and may not bring prohibited items into secure areas of terminals.
These airports are currently implementing RT programs:
These airports intend to implement RT programs in the near future:
The following airports have expressed interest and/or have requested TSA approval for the RT program:
, the founder of Court TV
. Clear had programs at Albany, Cincinnati, Denver, Dulles Washington D.C., Indianapolis, Little Rock, New York LaGuardia, New York JFK, Newark, Oakland, Orlando, Reagan Washington D.C., Salt Lake City, San Jose, San Francisco and Westchester Airports.
On July 26, 2008, a laptop containing the names, addresses, birth dates, driver's license
numbers, and passport information of 33,000 Clear customers was reported stolen from a secured room in San Francisco International Airport. The information was on an unencrypted laptop, in contravention of TSA rules, although it was protected by two levels of password protection.
As a result of the theft, TSA officials ordered Clear to inform affected customers, suspend enrollment of new customers, and cease use of unencrypted computers as well as secure devices until encryption can be installed, as required by TSA rules. Verified Identity Pass must submit an independent audit of its systems to the TSA before the company can register new customers.
On August 4, 2008 TSA Suspends Verified Identity Pass, Inc. Clear Registered Traveler Enrollment
On August 5, 2008, the laptop was found in the same room where it went missing. Officials are currently investigating whether any personal data was accessed as well as the circumstances of the reappearance.
On June 22, 2009, Clear announced they would cease operations effective immediately, citing an inability of Verified Identity Pass, Inc to obtain necessary financing. The entire contents of Clear's Web site was removed and most pages redirected to this simple statement:
On July 6, 2009 Two law firms filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of customers of Clear’s parent company, Verified Identity Pass, Inc that suddenly shut down on June 22.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Verified Identity Pass Inc., by Schneider Wallace Cottrell Brayton Konecky LLP and Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP. The suit claims that by ceasing operations and not offering refunds, VIP committed conversion, fraud, breach of contract, negligence and unjust enrichment. Additional lawsuits since have focused upon demanding the return or destruction of personal information, social security numbers, credit card numbers, fingerprints and iris scans in addition to refunding membership fees.
On April 16, 2010, Judge Stuart M. Bernstein of the U.S Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan granted approval to Alclear LLC to purchase the CLEAR assets after outbidding rival Henry Inc.
On May 3, 2010, Verified Identity Pass was purchased by Allclear LLC. AllClear LLC has now brought Clear back and is honoring the time left on all Clear's original customers whose membership may have been terminated before the end of their contracts. New Clear service opened at Orlando International Airport on November 9 and at Denver International Airport on November 30. Clear says it hopes to be in a dozen cities by end of 2011.
CLEAR re-opened on November 2010 in Denver and Orlando. As of February 2011, CLEAR is engaged in vigorous expansion plans.
area, or by on-location appointment for corporate accounts.
100 per year, with option to prepay for up to 5 years. Shortly after the buyout, the company went out of business and was shut down in July of 2009. The office at the Reno/Tahoe International Airport is no longer in use and both enrollment and special RTGo lines are no longer in use. The verification kiosks have also been removed. Instead, business travelers are encouraged to utilize the business (black diamond) lane at the checkpoint.
were flagged by the CAPPS I system but were not intercepted, because security was focused short sightedly on luggage bombs. However, those participating in the Registered Traveler Program currently pass through the same security checkpoints and are screened the same as any other individual, the main difference being RT members enjoy a much shorter wait before screening. Currently RT programs do not offer a reduced security check, but their announced plans indicate they intend to offer this if airport officials allow it.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
air travel industry in 2005. It was used in several U.S. airports in a voluntary pilot phase and continues in operation in several airports around the country. It is administered by TTAC, the Transportation Security Administration
Transportation Security Administration
The Transportation Security Administration is an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that exercises authority over the safety and security of the traveling public in the United States....
(TSA) office responsible for Secure Flight, the replacement for the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System
Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System
The Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System is a counter-terrorism system in place in the United States air travel industry...
(CAPPS) and the canceled CAPPS II counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...
system. Registered Traveler is a public and private partnership between the TSA and the Registered Traveler Interoperability Consortium (RTIC) providing rules and standards for private Enrollment Providers that sign up participants. At 11:00 p.m. PST on June 22, 2009, Clear (the largest of the three companies offering the Registered Traveler program) ceased operations because Clear and its parent company, Verified Identity Pass, Inc., have filed for bankruptcy.
Overview
The program seeks to identify passengers who pose a minimal security risk, and then provide those passengers an enhanced security checkpoint experience. Passengers will voluntarily pay a fee and submit to a background check to become a Registered Traveler. Passengers who pass the background check will be issued a smartcard credential for use at the security checkpoints of airports that participate in the program. Registered Travelers will have access to a reserved security lane and will enjoy a shorter wait at the security checkpoint. Other benefits, such as allowing Registered Travelers to keep their coats and shoes on and their laptops in their bags have also been discussed. Any U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident over the age of 18 can apply for membership, as can minors over the age of 12 with parental or guardian sponsorship.In order to prevent a terrorist with a clean background from compromising the system, the TSA requires that registered travelers undergo the normal TSA screening (baggage x-ray and personal metal detector), at the RT kiosk checkpoint. Additionally, Registered Travelers are not exempt from random secondary screening and may not bring prohibited items into secure areas of terminals.
Airports
These airports operated the Clear Registered Traveler program until June 22 and currently other Registered Traveler programs:- Albany International AirportAlbany International AirportAlbany International Airport is a public use airport located six nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Albany, in Albany County, New York, United States. It is owned by the Albany County Airport Authority....
(ALB) - Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), Terminal 3
- Denver International AirportDenver International AirportDenver International Airport , often referred to as DIA, is an airport in Denver, Colorado. By land size, at , it is the largest international airport in the United States, and the third largest international airport in the world after King Fahd International Airport and Montréal-Mirabel...
(DEN) - Gulfport-Biloxi International AirportGulfport-Biloxi International Airport-Hurricane Katrina:The airport was closed for repairs following severe damage by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. On September 8, 2005, the airport reopened for commercial flights on Northwest Airlines to Memphis and other airlines quickly followed suit. On February 1, 2006, Gulfport-Biloxi...
(GPT) - Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International AirportHartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International AirportHartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport , known locally as Atlanta Airport, Hartsfield Airport, and Hartsfield–Jackson, is located seven miles south of the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States...
(ATL) - Indianapolis International AirportIndianapolis International AirportIndianapolis International Airport is a public airport located seven miles southwest of the central business district of Indianapolis, a city in Marion County, Indiana, United States. It is owned and operated by the Indianapolis Airport Authority...
(IND) - Jacksonville International AirportJacksonville International AirportJacksonville International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located 13 miles north of downtown Jacksonville, a city in Duval County, Florida...
(JAX) - LaGuardia International Airport (LGA), Delta/Northwest Terminal and B gates in the Central Terminal
- Little Rock National AirportLittle Rock National AirportLittle Rock National Airport , officially Little Rock National Airport/Adams Field, is located 2 miles east of the central business district of Little Rock, a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States. It is Arkansas' largest commercial service airport, serving more than 2.1 million...
(LIT) - Logan International AirportLogan International AirportGeneral Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport is located in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts . It covers , has six runways, and employs an estimated 16,000 people. It is the 19th busiest airport in the United States.Boston serves as a focus city for JetBlue Airways...
(BOS) - John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK), Terminals 1, 4, and 7
- Newark Liberty International AirportNewark Liberty International AirportNewark Liberty International Airport , first named Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport within the city limits of both Newark and Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States...
, Terminal B (EWR) - Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC), Terminal A and C
- Oakland International AirportOakland International AirportOakland International Airport , also known as Metropolitan Oakland International Airport, is a public airport located south of the central business district of Oakland, a city in Alameda County, California, United States...
(OAK) - Orlando International AirportOrlando International AirportOrlando International Airport is a major international airport located southeast of the central business district of Orlando. It is the second busiest airport in Florida, after Miami International Airport...
(MCO) - Reno/Tahoe International AirportReno/Tahoe International AirportReno-Tahoe International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located three nautical miles southeast of the central business district of Reno, a city in Washoe County, Nevada, United States...
(RNO) - Ronald Reagan Washington National AirportRonald Reagan Washington National AirportRonald Reagan Washington National Airport is a public airport located south of downtown Washington, D.C., in Arlington County, Virginia. It is the commercial airport nearest to Washington, D.C. For many decades, it was called Washington National Airport, but this airport was renamed in 1998 to...
(DCA) - San Francisco International AirportSan Francisco International AirportSan Francisco International Airport is a major international airport located south of downtown San Francisco, California, United States, near the cities of Millbrae and San Bruno in unincorporated San Mateo County. It is often referred to as SFO...
(SFO), Terminals 1 and 3 - Salt Lake City International AirportSalt Lake City International AirportSalt Lake City International Airport is a major public airport in Utah. A joint civil-military facility, it is located in western Salt Lake City, approximately four miles from the central business district...
(SLC) - Washington Dulles International AirportWashington Dulles International AirportWashington Dulles International Airport is a public airport in Dulles, Virginia, 26 miles west of downtown Washington, D.C. The airport serves the Baltimore-Washington-Northern Virginia metropolitan area centered on the District of Columbia. It is named after John Foster Dulles, Secretary of...
(IAD) - Westchester County AirportWestchester County AirportWestchester County Airport is a county-owned public-use airport in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located three nautical miles northeast of the central business district of White Plains, in the towns of Harrison, North Castle and Rye Brook.It serves the areas of...
(HPN)
These airports are currently implementing RT programs:
- Toronto Pearson International AirportToronto Pearson International AirportToronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport serving Toronto, Ontario, Canada; its metropolitan area; and the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration that is home to 8.1 million people – approximately 25% of Canada's population...
(YYZ)
These airports intend to implement RT programs in the near future:
The following airports have expressed interest and/or have requested TSA approval for the RT program:
- Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall AirportBaltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall AirportBaltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is an international airport serving the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area in the United States. It is commonly called BWI, BWI Airport or BWI Marshall, BWI being an initialism for "Baltimore/Washington International" and the...
(BWI) - Birmingham International Airport (BHM)
- Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW)
- Huntsville International AirportHuntsville International AirportHuntsville International Airport , also known as Carl T. Jones Field, is an airport located 9 miles southwest of the central business district of Huntsville, a city in Madison County, Alabama, United States...
(HSV) - Los Angeles International AirportLos Angeles International AirportLos Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...
(LAX) - O'Hare International AirportO'Hare International AirportChicago O'Hare International Airport , also known as O'Hare Airport, O'Hare Field, Chicago Airport, Chicago International Airport, or simply O'Hare, is a major airport located in the northwestern-most corner of Chicago, Illinois, United States, northwest of the Chicago Loop...
(ORD) - Pittsburgh International AirportPittsburgh International AirportPittsburgh International Airport , formerly Greater Pittsburgh Airport, Greater Pittsburgh International Airport and commonly referred to as Pittsburgh International, is a joint civil–military international airport located in the Pittsburgh suburb of Findlay Township, approximately west of...
(PIT) - Springfield-Branson National Airport (SGF)
- Ted Stevens Anchorage International AirportTed Stevens Anchorage International Airport-Top destinations:-Scheduled cargo airlines:-Top destinations:-Scheduled cargo airlines:-Top destinations:-Scheduled cargo airlines:-Inter-terminal:...
(ANC)
Programs
These Registered Traveler programs are inter-operable and membership to one works with other corresponding RT programs that have TSA approval.Clear
Clear, operated by Verified Identity Pass, was the largest Registered Traveler program participant with almost 200,000 members. Clear was founded by Steven BrillSteven Brill (law writer)
Steven Brill is the founder of CourtTV and American Lawyer magazine. He also founded the failed Verified Identity Pass, Inc., the New York-based company that operated the Clear airport security fast-pass. The service abruptly shut down June 23, 2009, without any notice to the company's 260,000...
, the founder of Court TV
Court TV
truTV is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Time Warner. The network launched as Court TV in 1991, changing to truTV in 2008...
. Clear had programs at Albany, Cincinnati, Denver, Dulles Washington D.C., Indianapolis, Little Rock, New York LaGuardia, New York JFK, Newark, Oakland, Orlando, Reagan Washington D.C., Salt Lake City, San Jose, San Francisco and Westchester Airports.
On July 26, 2008, a laptop containing the names, addresses, birth dates, driver's license
Driver's license
A driver's license/licence , or driving licence is an official document which states that a person may operate a motorized vehicle, such as a motorcycle, car, truck or a bus, on a public roadway. Most U.S...
numbers, and passport information of 33,000 Clear customers was reported stolen from a secured room in San Francisco International Airport. The information was on an unencrypted laptop, in contravention of TSA rules, although it was protected by two levels of password protection.
As a result of the theft, TSA officials ordered Clear to inform affected customers, suspend enrollment of new customers, and cease use of unencrypted computers as well as secure devices until encryption can be installed, as required by TSA rules. Verified Identity Pass must submit an independent audit of its systems to the TSA before the company can register new customers.
On August 4, 2008 TSA Suspends Verified Identity Pass, Inc. Clear Registered Traveler Enrollment
On August 5, 2008, the laptop was found in the same room where it went missing. Officials are currently investigating whether any personal data was accessed as well as the circumstances of the reappearance.
On June 22, 2009, Clear announced they would cease operations effective immediately, citing an inability of Verified Identity Pass, Inc to obtain necessary financing. The entire contents of Clear's Web site was removed and most pages redirected to this simple statement:
Clear Lanes Are No Longer Available.
At 11:00 p.m. PST on June 22, 2009, Clear will cease operations. Clear’s parent company, Verified Identity Pass, Inc. has been unable to negotiate an agreement with its senior creditor to continue operations.
On July 6, 2009 Two law firms filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of customers of Clear’s parent company, Verified Identity Pass, Inc that suddenly shut down on June 22.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Verified Identity Pass Inc., by Schneider Wallace Cottrell Brayton Konecky LLP and Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP. The suit claims that by ceasing operations and not offering refunds, VIP committed conversion, fraud, breach of contract, negligence and unjust enrichment. Additional lawsuits since have focused upon demanding the return or destruction of personal information, social security numbers, credit card numbers, fingerprints and iris scans in addition to refunding membership fees.
On April 16, 2010, Judge Stuart M. Bernstein of the U.S Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan granted approval to Alclear LLC to purchase the CLEAR assets after outbidding rival Henry Inc.
On May 3, 2010, Verified Identity Pass was purchased by Allclear LLC. AllClear LLC has now brought Clear back and is honoring the time left on all Clear's original customers whose membership may have been terminated before the end of their contracts. New Clear service opened at Orlando International Airport on November 9 and at Denver International Airport on November 30. Clear says it hopes to be in a dozen cities by end of 2011.
CLEAR re-opened on November 2010 in Denver and Orlando. As of February 2011, CLEAR is engaged in vigorous expansion plans.
iQueue
FLO Corporation has partnered with Cogent and iQueue to deliver RT solutions and services. They expect to bring back the Registered Traveler program in the Fall of 2010 starting with Indianapolis International Airport, with further expansions planned after.FLO
The FLO Corporation, in conjunction with FLO Alliance partners, provides biometric identification technologies and credentialing processes for use in airports in accordance with the Registered Traveler program. Final enrollment centers are located in the Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
area, or by on-location appointment for corporate accounts.
RtGo
RtGo was operated by Unisys Corporation (It had been bought out by FLO and was being operated by IRAM Associates). Membership was $United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
100 per year, with option to prepay for up to 5 years. Shortly after the buyout, the company went out of business and was shut down in July of 2009. The office at the Reno/Tahoe International Airport is no longer in use and both enrollment and special RTGo lines are no longer in use. The verification kiosks have also been removed. Instead, business travelers are encouraged to utilize the business (black diamond) lane at the checkpoint.
Preferred Traveler
The Preferred Traveler program is run by Vigilant Solutions, a Jacksonville Beach based company. The company’s program differentiates itself by adding a suite of value-added services for the traveler.Identifying information
Passengers who participate in this system must first provide personal biographical information including name, address, phone number, citizenship status, and previous addresses, along with other information. The biographical information will be collected by a commercial Registered Traveler service provider. The biographical portion of the enrollment may be accomplished via a secure web site. Next, the applicant will proceed to the biometric phase of the enrollment process. During biometric enrollment applicants will present identification documents and fingerprints. Applicants may also choose to have an image of their iris taken if they wish to use an iris image as an alternative to a fingerprint scan at the security checkpoint. The iris image is totally non-invasive to the eye. Once the biometric enrollment is complete, the service provider submits the collected data to the TSA which performs a Security Threat Assessment (STA) of the applicant. If the assessment does not indicate that the applicant is suspected of posing a risk to aviation security, the TSA will return an approved STA result to the service provider. The service provider will then provide the passenger with a Registered Traveler card. The card will be a smartcard, containing biometric information to prevent the card from being used by unauthorized persons. This card will then be inserted into a verification kiosk at the special checkpoints, which will verify the passengers biometrics (fingerprint or iris scan) and acknowledge membership and clearance to proceed to RT screening.Privacy
This system, like the related Secure Flight, has come under fire for its privacy implications although less so because Registered Traveler unlike Secure Flight is voluntary. The potential effectiveness has also been questioned. On the privacy front Registered Traveler collects far more information than Secure Flight including biometrics. While supporters assert that this program is voluntary, critics assert that RT's extensive background checks will be misused. The privacy safeguards and rules can be found in the RTIC specification and the TSA RT Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA). Many airports and airlines already offer access to shorter "priority" security lines to first class or other status travelers without requiring any background checks.Effectiveness
Similar to the concerns raised about CAPPS and CAPPS II, critics point out that any program designed to exclude certain passengers from scrutiny will provide a backdoor for potential terrorists, since they would likely seek Registered Traveler status. This criticism draws on the 9/11 Commission finding that 9 of the 19 hijackers involved in the September 11, 2001 attacksSeptember 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
were flagged by the CAPPS I system but were not intercepted, because security was focused short sightedly on luggage bombs. However, those participating in the Registered Traveler Program currently pass through the same security checkpoints and are screened the same as any other individual, the main difference being RT members enjoy a much shorter wait before screening. Currently RT programs do not offer a reduced security check, but their announced plans indicate they intend to offer this if airport officials allow it.
Fairness
Because the Registered Travelers Program, in its current form, does not exempt members from any of the security checks of the TSA, it is often criticized as merely being a method by which frequent travelers can pay an annual fee to a private company in order to be permitted to move to the head of the TSA line and not wait their turn along with less frequent travelers. Since the TSA lines are a government program (funded by equal payments on tickets of frequent travelers and non-travelers), this strikes many as being unfair to less frequent travelers.Organizations
- TSA Registered Traveler Web Site
- Registered Traveler Interoperability Consortium
- Clear Registered Traveler Program
- FLO Corporation
- Preferred Traveler Program(spam Advert)
- RtGo Program(Broken Link - Spam Advert)
Documents
- Technical Interoperability Specification for Registered Traveler
- DHS Registered Traveler Privacy Impact Assessment