SITA working group to define roadmap for secure end-to-end passenger experience

SITA has formed the Secure Journeys Working Group, a new initiative aimed at addressing growing airport security threats in the United States.

The group will provide policy guidance to the Transportation Security Administration, the Customs and Border Protection Agency, and other relevant government organizations related to travel safety.

Secure Journeys is an expansion of SITA’s Border Automation User Group which was formed in 2015 to facilitate implementation of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Automated Passport Control program.

“Because CVG is a mid-market airport, we have the unique ability to quickly test the effectiveness of emerging technology on security and efficiency,” Brian Cobb, vice president of customer services at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). “As a member of Secure Journeys, we can use our knowledge to help shape recommendations to the TSA and CBP based on real-world experience rather than untested concepts. We look forward to collaborating as a community to ensure the safety and convenience of the traveling public.”

The organization will address several growing challenges including moving passengers and baggage more quickly through non-secure areas of the airport, reducing and effectively managing security wait times to reduce lines of people in non-secure areas, integrating biometrics into passenger screening authentication; and leveraging identity management technology and data analytics to address concerns of ‘insider threats’.

Secure Journeys will bring together experts and representatives from across the air transportation sector to provide feedback and recommendations based on their personal perspective and experience.

The organization will identify the solutions and recommendations while informing key decision makers in the field.

“As the U.S. government looks for answers to a new set of threats passengers face, 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,” David Menzel, sales director of government markets at SITA and founding member of Secure Journeys, said. “We look forward to continuing work with the Department of Homeland Security and our airline and airport partners to make America’s airports safer and improve the overall passenger experience from reservation to destination.”

Previously reported, Australia’s Brisbane Airport has launched a trial of facial recognition technology developed in partnership with SITA and Air New Zealand.

Article Topics

airports  |  biometric authentication  |  biometrics  |  identity verification  |  SITA