A US-based air carrier is testing a program that would eliminate airport check-in for customers wishing to check baggage. Hawaiian Airlines is testing preprinted luggage tags for flights from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Oakland International Airport to Honolulu, Kahului, Kona, and Lihue in Hawaii. Tag@Home lets passengers print out their baggage tags at home when they check in online. Once at the airport, they get a plastic tag to hold the printed tag that attaches to the bag, which they drop off at a designated location before moving to security stations. At the end of the 60-day trial, Hawaiian Airlines expects to evaluate the program and determine whether it should be rolled on all of its routes. The company is also testing a baggage weighing and tagging service at self-serve kiosks in nine airports. The airline says the free programs are designed to help customers navigate more rapidly through the airport, but some say it could eliminate jobs if adopted across the industry. Hawaiian said it hasn’t reduced staffing levels. (Geek Wire)(Pacific Business Journal)(Hawaiian Airlines)
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
US Security Officials Use Government, Private Databases to Prescreen Airline Passengers; Privacy Advocates Worry
The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has expanded its airline-passenger screening by gathering information from various government and private databases, including those that the Department of Homeland Security maintains. Privacy advocates are concerned about the intrusive nature of the program, which was likened to a “pre-crime assessment every time you fly” according to a consultant to one of the groups opposing the program. Edward Hasbrouck said, “The default will be the highest, most intrusive level of search.” TSA agents are now accessing data such as car registrations, tax identification numbers, previous travel information, and material gathered by law-enforcement or intelligence officials for all travelers, not just those entering the US. The TSA has not publicly released many details of the new program. “The measures go beyond the background check the government has conducted for years, called Secure Flight, in which a passenger’s name, gender and date of birth are compared with terrorist watch lists,” noted the New York Times. (SlashDot)(The New York Times)
