The Secure Flight requirement of the US Transportation Security Administration
(TSA) obliges airlines to collect Secure Flight passenger information from
individuals travelling to/from/via the USA from 31 October. 

In connection with the flight booking, passengers must declare their full name
just as it appears in their passport, as well as their gender and date of
birth. 

The airline sends the information to the TSA 72 hours before the flight
departure time. The TSA compares the information with watch lists with the
purpose of identifying suspected terrorists, preventing access to flights by
passengers prohibited from flying, and identifying individuals for whom an
enhanced security check should be performed.

When a passenger's information has been compared with the watch lists, the
Secure Flight system sends the result to the airline. If the screening result
is negative, the passenger cannot be accepted for the flight without further
investigation. Further investigation may, however, change the result to
positive, in which case the passenger can be accepted for the flight. 

An airline cannot accept for a flight individuals who lack a Secure Flight
screening result. For this reason it is important that the required information
is found from the reservation at the latest 72 hours before the flight
departure time. If a booking is made closer to the travel time, the airline
will deliver the information to the TSA in connection with the booking
confirmation. 

Further information on the Secure Flight requirement can be found on the TSA
website at the address http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/layers/secureflight/.

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