The U.S. General Accounting Office has begun speaking with airlines and reservations companies to better understand the financial impact that the second generation computer-assisted passenger prescreening system would impose on them. GAO last week issued a report critical of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's planning for CAPPS II, which prompted DHS officials to say its testing would be delayed.
Cathleen Berrick, co-author of GAO's most recent aviation security study
(BTNonline, Feb. 12), today said, "We have started initial interviews with airlines and reservations companies to assess the impact on them and on the traveling public. We're also asking them about CAPPS I." Berrick said GAO would issue a report 90 days after DHS certifies CAPPS II, which DHS has said it cannot do until after it satisfies all eight criteria Congress established for the system.
Last week's GAO report said DHS had addressed only one of the eight criteria, and cited an "estimated life cycle cost of over $380 million through fiscal year 2008," but the figure did "not include air carrier, reservation company or passenger costs."
DHS under secretary Asa Hutchinson late last week said he was unsure of when testing for CAPPS II would begin. The "hope" is that it would start by the end of the year, Hutchinson said, but "testing probably will not be in a spring timeframe," which was the earlier goal
(BTN, Feb. 9). He also said DHS will create an external review board, including representatives of "consumers, privacy and industry."