Riding the wave of this week’s Passenger Terminal Expo, air travel IT solutions provider SITA has announced the Secure Journeys Working Group, an industry initiative aimed at offering policy guidance to the Transportation Security Administration, the Customs and Border Protection Agency, and other relevant government groups.
It’s an extension of the Border Automation User Group formed by SITA back in 2015, with the new group concerning itself with a few key issues: Streamlining the movement of passengers through the airport, making security screening more efficient, implementing biometric screening, and leveraging identity management technology and data analytics to address the issue of ‘insider threats’. In a statement announcing the new working group, SITA Government Markets Sales Director David Menzel explained that “Secure Journeys will identify solutions to common ‘soft target’ challenges, passenger screening and insider threats and develop a set of recommended standards for U.S. airports to adopt.” Menzel went on to suggest that the group will work primarily with the Department of Homeland Security and airport and airline partners.
The working group’s formation comes at a time of increasing enthusiasm for biometrics border screening solutions. Plans for biometric airport screening programs for Canada and the US have just recently come to light, for example, while companies like Vision-Box continue to find business from airport authorities seeking to streamline their passenger screening processes. With business and government interests aligning on this issue, the Secure Journeys Working Group could find some receptive audiences for its recommendations.
–
March 16, 2017 – by Alex Perala
Follow Us