Roanoke, Virginia, Airport Joins Others Planning to Implement "Registered Travelers" Program

Feb. 9--Roanoke Regional Airport officials are planning to implement a fledgling federal program that aims to speed preregistered travelers through security this June, despite the misgivings of some airlines.

The so-called "Registered Traveler" program is designed to allow those who have submitted personal information, been fingerprinted and then given a security clearance to bypass regular crowded security lines and move faster to their gates. The yearly fee in a current test program is $80 per passenger.

True, the wait in line at security is usually no more than 15 minutes at Roanoke Regional, said Sherry Wallace, a spokeswoman. But even that can be sharply reduced, said Cindy Rosenthal, a spokeswoman for Verified Identity Pass, a New York-based company operating a test of Registered Traveler in Orlando, Fla.: "We can cut the wait time to seconds."

The program would be voluntary, the choice to participate being up to passengers. In addition, individual airports could decide against the program.

Some frequent flyers eagerly await the program. Kevin Conlan, a marketing executive for ITT, based in Roanoke, who travels some 10 weeks a year, said, "I would personally pay the fee for it out of my own pocket rather than charge the company. That's how much I would value faster security checks."

But the Air Transport Association, a Washington, D.C.-based trade group for the airlines, objected to the program in a letter to the federal Transportation Security Administration dated Jan. 9, and posted on ATA's Web site.

James May, president and chief executive officer of the trade group, wrote, "Simply put, checkpoint screening has improved to the point that a continued investment of resources in RT is not advisable and the program should be discontinued."

May, scheduled to testify today in a hearing about the program held by the U.S. Senate Committee on Science and Transportation, elaborated in his letter on concern that the program, which involves a separate line through security for passengers who have been cleared in advance, "could result in a multi-tiered process" that would "reduce efficiency."

May's main objection may be over the possibility that the "resources" to pay for the program might include some fees paid by airlines. To be sure, the TSA has been specific that it won't pay for Registered Traveler. The brunt of the costs apparently would be paid by passengers, who are being charged a yearly fee of $80 apiece in the current tests. "We already have 15,000 members in the Orlando area," said Rosenthal.

But even big airlines that fly routes into Orlando aren't so sure. "We're waiting to see what TSA thinks," said Benet Wilson, a spokeswoman at Delta Airlines' headquarters in Atlanta. She added, "We're always looking for ways to reduce the hassle for our customers."

At Roanoke Regional, Wallace said that Registered Traveler could be a bigger boon to local travelers returning home than flying out. "We would like to have it here for our passengers to take advantage of anywhere they fly," she said.

The program works this way: Passengers must get their bags checked and go through security screening. But members of Registered Traveler would have a separate line. And even in that special line, passengers are subject to being singled out for additional security examinations, in which they might have to remove their shoes and certain other garments, demonstrate their laptops and cellular phones -- and even walk through metal detectors.

One possible hitch is to make sure that terrorists don't manage to get fake IDs that allow them in the preferred security-risk line. Another concern, especially for airlines, is that the additional lines for Registered Travelers don't interfere with existing separate areas for first-class and disabled passengers.

"That can be handled very efficiently," said Verified Identity's Rosenthal.

"Our system has nothing to do with seating or ticketing."

She said the typical passenger exiting Orlando in the program goes through security in 14 seconds. At an airport such as Roanoke, Rosenthal said, "Our lines would be really short -- maybe three people."