Passenger list sharing will cause delays, says ATA

A plan to require airlines to submit passenger lists for verification from government watch lists could cause widespread delays, the Air Transportation Association (ATA) says.

According to a report in the Chicago Tribune, David Castelveter, a spokesman for the ATA, said that while he did not disagree that such legislation would improve safety, it may not be workable while maintaining a useable aviation network.

Castelveter also noted that it would have a particularly detrimental effect on long-haul international flights, which have many more passengers than domestic flights.

"We certainly don't oppose the idea of submitting a manifest 60 minutes prior (to departure)," said Castelveter. "But we've got to find a practical way of implementing it.

"For a big airplane like a 777, to get a manifest done in 60 minutes you've got to board them well before that," he continued.

"Do we honestly want people sitting on the airplane an hour and a half, two hours before they're going to take a three, four, or five hour flight?"

This observation on the security lists was made following last week's threats to U.S.-bound flights from London Heathrow. Long delays ensued when the practice was adopted as an emergency measure.

Homeland Security chiefs have dismissed this as an indicator of how the system will work, however, as it was a unique situation and the implementation was somewhat unexpected, they said.

© Adfero Ltd