Airlines will be asking birthdates and gender for new TSA 'Secure Flight'

WASHINGTON -- Don't be surprised if you're asked to provide your date of birth and gender when booking plane tickets later this summer.

The Transportation Security Administration has launched a new program called "Secure Flight" to improve security and reduce misidentification of passengers who have names similar to individuals on government watch lists.

As part of Secure Flight, airlines will ask passengers buying tickets to provide their name exactly as it appears on the government-issued identification they plan to use when traveling. Later this summer, airlines will also begin asking passengers to provide their birthdates and gender.

Paul Leyh, TSA's director of Secure Flight, said in a phone interview that by collecting the additional information before passengers arrive at airport security checkpoints, "we can run it against the watch list and use it to clear passengers."

Leyh would not say which airlines were implementing the program first, but he said passengers shouldn't be concerned if they are not asked for the information in the near future, since the program is being phased in over 18 months. Some carriers are already collecting the new data, but others won't be doing so until later this year.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy is among a number of passengers who have been subjected to extra searches and screening at U.S. airports in recent years because their names matched those on the U.S. government's secret terrorist watch lists.

When fully implemented the new procedures will apply to tickets for air travel within, to, from or over the continental U.S., Leyh said.

You can find more information about TSA policies and security rules at www.tsa.gov.