WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- The U.S. Transportation Security Administration will ask U.S. airline passengers to provide additional personal data at booking time, an official says.
Acting TSA Administrator Gale Rossides said in a statement that starting next Saturday, individuals booking their flights will be asked to provide their full name, gender and date of birth to airline officials, The Detroit News reported Monday.
The information provided by each passenger must be identical to the information on the government-issued identification used by the passenger at booking time.
The most common types of identification used to check in and board a flight are driver's licenses and passports.
Rossides said the request for additional passenger information is part of the new Secure Flight program aimed at having all airline passengers be vetted through the federal department's watch lists.
"By enhancing and streamlining the watch list matching process, the Secure Flight program makes travel safer and easier for millions of Americans," Rossides said in the statement.
