Frequent flyers departing from Jacksonville International Airport might have access to a special security lane as well as other amenities as soon as the end of the year, now that the airport has been accepted into the federal government's Registered Traveler program.
The Transportation Security Administration told the airport that it was one of about 20 airports that would be in the second phase of the program. The final list has not been released, said Ed Goodwin, TSA's Jacksonville federal security director, but the federal agency is meeting with airports that will be part of the wider rollout of the program.
Starting in 2004, TSA conducted a yearlong test of the Registered Traveler idea, in which frequent travelers undergo security checks for expedited screening at the airport.
Among the other airports that may institute Registered Traveler programs in coming months are Miami and Atlanta. Orlando, one of the pilot program sites, will continue operating.
The Jacksonville program will be somewhat different from other Registered Traveler programs, said Jacksonville Aviation Authority spokesman Michael Stewart. Because the airport doesn't have excessively long wait times, the authority will try to attract members by offering additional amenities, such as an easy-pass system in the parking garages -- with special entrance and exit lanes -- access to a special lounge and the ability to use a smart card to pay for purchases made at airport merchants.
The card issued by JIA would have to meet federal regulations, tying the Jacksonville system into the system used by other airports, meaning local members would have access to shorter security lines at other airports.
The costs of the program have not been determined, but it would be on an ala carte basis with travelers paying separately for the security check and other amenities.
The authority has issued a Request for Proposal from vendors who would provide equipment, such as iris or fingerprint scanners. Management of the program would be kept in-house, Stewart said.
Responses are due next week, and a decision should be made by the end of September. "We're moving forward," Stewart said, adding that issues such as cost have yet to be determined. "We're hoping that it's in place sometime before the end of the year."
HOW IT WORKS
BECOMING REGISTERED
Participants in the Registered Traveler program will be required to provide information that will enable the government or a contractor run a background check on them, as well as biometric data that would let the traveler be identified. The exact specifications of the national system are not yet worked out, but it is likely that travelers would have to provide several sorts of data, such as fingerprints and iris scans, with individual airports deciding which method they use to verify identity.
Copyright 2005 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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