Foreign travelers coming into the US have grown accustomed to the additional scrutiny at airports. Now, a proposal by the Transport Security Administration wants to take that a step further, and make it mandatory for all Americans buying airline tickets to furnish their first and last names, birth date and gender. Currently, travelers are only required to give a last name and use an initial in place of their first name.
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The proposal has both airlines and privacy rights activists up in arms. You can’t really blame the airlines. Between forcing people to get off the flight because they’re dressed inappropriately and handling passengers who’ve been “handling” themselves on flight, they have enough on their plates. Already the American Society of Travel Agents, the Air Transport Association, and Continental and Virgin airlines have voiced their opposition to any such proposal, claiming passengers were likely to “desist” from giving out private information, and that would only make their job more difficult.
The proposal is riddled with doublespeak. It requires airlines to ask for every traveler’s name, birth date and gender details, but does not mandate passengers to supply the same. Passengers who don’t comply can expect “additional screening” or “denied transport.”
Interestingly enough, the highest opposition seems to be not toward the full name requirement, but towards the birth date and gender requirements. No prizes for guessing where all that opposition is coming from.