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The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued the Secure Flight Final Rule. This rule allows the TSA to begin implementation of the Secure Flight program.

The industry is making preparations to transmit the Secure Flight required information (name, date of birth (DOB), and gender) between the GDS and airline, or between airlines for bookings made May 1, 2009 and beyond.

The process of our Clubs collecting the data from the customers will be part of an entire process that enfolds over the next twelve month period. Effective May 1, 2009, you will be asked to collect the name, date of birth and gender for each traveler.

Under the new rule, TSA will receive limited information for each passenger traveling on:

• Flights within the United States
• Flights arriving from international destinations
• Flights flying into U.S. airspace over the 48 continental United States

Note: This rule would also include those not traveling but still requiring a boarding pass to escort a minor or disabled passenger to the gate into the sterile (airside) area.

The TSA will determine if the information provided on a passenger matches a person on their "No Fly" or "Selectee" lists and will transmit results back to airlines. The new rule requires airlines (not travel agencies) to send passenger information on existing bookings 72 hours prior to departure, to be vetted against the TSA watch list in the effort to reduce the risk of a terrorist boarding a plane.

Travel agencies and GDSs are not expected to know which flights are subject to the TSA requirements (e.g., flights that merely enter U.S. airspace are not known by the travel agency). For this reason, Travelport GDS recommends that travel agencies collect the necessary information for all passengers to ensure the passengers are not held up at the airport.

Customer Benefits:

• Passengers will experience less inconvenience during the check-in and security screening process.
• Passengers may obtain their boarding passes when advance check-in becomes available.

If the passenger chooses not to share the information with you it is very possible their check-in and boarding pass procedures may be delayed. Agencies are not the enforcers of the collection of data. Customers may choose to not share the information. If they do, will you want to make note in the PNR that customer refused. This may/may not be important information for you in dealing with customer service issues.