Airlines See a Manifest Mess

Nov. 14, 2006
Airlines are warning that airport hassles could get even worse, at least for international travelers.

Air travelers are already short-tempered, what with long security lines at airports and the new restrictions on transporting liquids.

And now, airlines are warning, airport hassles could get even worse, at least for international travelers, if the Homeland Security Department's Customs and Border Protection (CBP) division follows through with its recent proposal to require airlines to turn over international flight manifests to the agency as much as an hour before departure.

Airlines currently are required to supply passenger manifests for international flights to the agency 15 minutes after takeoff for planes coming to the United States and 15 minutes before takeoff for those leaving this country. Passenger names are then vetted against terrorist watch lists. But CBP wants to review all manifests prior to departure, citing a mandate in a 2004 anti-terrorism law. If the proposed rule is finalized, the agency would ask airlines to provide the manifests an hour before departure time, meaning that passengers would have to show up earlier for flights. The agency does provide a second option: Airlines can provide the data 15 minutes before departure if they agree to grant CBP real-time access to their passenger check-in systems.

The rule change, which was proposed last summer, has prompted more than a dozen U.S. and international carriers to file comments with CBP citing concern that they would cause flight delays and missed connections. They all decry the one-hour rule and are concerned that new rules for international flights will not be aligned with those for domestic routes, which are overseen separately by the Transportation Security Administration. United Airlines' Mary Barnicle, manager of international and regulatory affairs, wrote that the "resulting flight delays and retiming required would fundamentally disrupt airline network systems, thereby potentially eviscerating billions of dollars in efficiencies."

Even the real-time data check is flawed, she argues, since it would be combined with a redefinition of "departure" from the current "wheels-up" to "push back" from the gate, on average a difference of 18 minutes. That could force airlines to close check-in 33 minutes before departure.

Kelly Klundt, an agency spokeswoman, says all CBP wants is to "make sure our borders are secure and that we are facilitating the travel of the 99.9 percent who are legitimate travelers." But she promises that CBP will take into account the airlines' concerns before finalizing the rules. That is expected to happen early next year.

News stories provided by third parties are not edited by "Site Publication" staff. For suggestions and comments, please click the Contact link at the bottom of this page.