Perhaps the Obama administration needs to come up with a travel-security stimulus plan.
In the aftermath of the Christmas Day terrorism incident onboard Northwest Airlines flight 253, the U.S. Travel Association called on Congress to take leftover monies from the country's economic stimulus plan and to use it for the immediate implementation "of screening techniques that strengthen security, balance privacy and improve traveler facilitation."
The development came as several other travel industry organizations, including the Business Travel Coalition, the National Business Travel Association and the American Society of Travel Agents, chimed in about the security issue.
Specifically, U.S. Travel says whole-body imaging (WBI) and increased use of bomb-sniffing dogs seem promising, but the association adds that while privacy issues related to WBI have been aired, detailed analysis is needed regarding its "security benefits, effect on wait times and any potential of reducing travelers' hassles at security checkpoints."
Some machines using WBI technology have been rolled out at U.S. airports, but their deployment has been very limited. There was at least one report that Schiphol Airport uses these machines, but was barred for unknown reasons for using them on passengers bound for the U.S.
The Business Travel Coalition welcomes the Obama administration's security review, but opines -- as have many observers -- that prohibitions against passengers getting up from their seats one hour prior to landing or using personal items in their seats "would defy logic if they are kept in place longer than what security precautions warrant."
Kevin Mitchell, the BTC founder, provides some interesting detail about the fact that suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab did not get flagged for secondary screening. Mitchell notes that the suspect's name made it to the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment database, along with 550,000 other names, but was not on the selectee list (14,000 names) or the no-fly list (4,000 names), although Britain turned down his Abdulmutallab's visa request.
"That the suspect did not but should have received additional questioning and physical screening is where the U.S. government’s focus should be, versus on the in-flight security illusion of restricted passenger movement, if it is intended to be more that temporary," Mitchell says.
Mitchell adds that Obama's review of security procedures should take into account the possible negative impact on business travel and the economy.
He also calls it "unconscionable" that the TSA is without a top leader as President Obama's nomination of Erroll Southers to head the agency has been blocked by "one Senator's extreme political views."
The National Business Travel Association urged the federal government to enhance watch list processes and to fill any bureaucratic gaps.
NBTA cited Secure Flight and US-Visit as examples of the types of risk-management security programs that aviation and federal officials should take into account when reviewing current and future security regulations.
NBTA called on governments around the world to put more resources into commercial aviation security.
Meanwhile, the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) issued the following statement:
"We, like everyone else, await with interest the outcome of the investigation that the President wisely ordered into the latest incident. Overall, we continue to believe that reasonable balance between security and travel facilitation is essential to economic recovery and longer term operation of the air transportation system. Travel must be made as safe as reasonably possible keeping in mind that too many obstacles can deter travel, which would be a victory for the terrorists. On behalf of travel agents and consumers of travel, ASTA will continue its close cooperation with, and input to, DHS and TSA.”