Former top Federal officials and travel leaders are calling on Congress and the White House to create an interagency task force to oversee national travel policy and increase the rollout of biometric security screening and other technology-driven capabilities across U.S. airports.
A new report released on Feb. 19 by the U.S. Travel Association (USTA) and a group of former officials of Federal agencies including the Department of Homeland Security is asking legislators and top Trump administration executives to implement a new U.S. travel strategy which those officials said would bolster security and efficiency.
The report aims to address recent and projected record-breaking air travel levels, with 2024 marking the highest-ever recorded levels of domestic air travelers. In 2025, domestic travel is expected to increase by nearly four percent and exceed $1 trillion in value – equaling pre-pandemic levels – with even more growth expected beyond that, according to the USTA.
“We’re heading into an era of unprecedented demand … pushing our system even further,” Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of USTA, said while speaking at the report’s briefing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
“[The report] lays out a clear, actionable plan to improve the US travel experience,” he said. “For the past year, this group has conducted a deep dive into the state of travel security, technology and processes … to tackle challenges and create a world class travel system.”
The United States doesn’t currently have a travel policy leader or agency and the report seeks to address that gap by proposing an interagency task force chaired by a senior White House official to “bring sustained leadership and focus” across the government and in preparation for upcoming major international sporting events the country will be hosting.
To keep up with increased travel, another recommendation asks policy makers to increase funding by $300 million over the next five years for biometric identity verification which would enable the Transportation Security Agency’s (TSA) to use improved facial screening technology at national airports.
“CBP [U.S. Customs and Border Protection] and TSA have already taken huge strides towards securing passengers in their baggage through confirming identity with biometrics, deploying advanced training systems and applying cutting edge analytics and AI, they need several things to make further progress” Kevin McAleenan, former acting secretary of DHS, said while speaking at the briefing.
“One, continued support with greater resources to complete major technology rollouts … two, legislative and policy support … three, a commitment to the staffing levels for law enforcement, security and administrative personnel,” he continued.
According to the report, the rollout of Credential Authentication Technology (CAT) would streamline security protocols and assist TSA officers in analyzing passenger behavior to identify “high risk individuals, human trafficking and other illicit activities.”
It also asks Congress to provide funding for Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) and alarm resolution technology totaling over $1 billion across the next five years. AIT technology is “complete, legacy metal detectors for non-low risk passengers.” The rollout of AIT would also likely reduce the “likelihood of physical pat-downs by automatically identifying the potential threat item and location,” according to the report.
Aside from more congressional appropriations, the report recommends legislative support and funding for biometrics and digital identity initiatives to expand second generation CAT technology, mobile drivers licenses and TSA PreCheck Touchless Identity Solution with industry partners.
However, the rollout of increased biometrics capabilities has raised the alarm for some, who noted the increased data privacy and cybersecurity-related risks of the technology.
In November, a bipartisan group of 12 senators called on the DHS internal watchdog to investigate the collection of biometric data from airport-based facial recognition technology, expressing concern that the data collected “could become one of the largest federal surveillance databases overnight without authorization from Congress.”
While this week’s report seeks legislative support, senators at the time wrote that “TSA has not provided Congress with evidence that facial recognition technology is necessary to catch fraudulent documents, decrease wait times at security checkpoints, or stop terrorists from boarding airplanes.”
The increased use of biometrics for passenger screen has historically faced additional opposition from legislators, including in a letter sent to Senate leaders in May asking to restrict the use of facial recognition technology through the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act. The bipartisan Traveler Privacy Protection Act of 2023 introduced to the Senate in late 2022 included provisions to strip TSA of its authority to use biometrics to screen airline passengers and require the agency to delete data obtained through the technology.
A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) early last year also revealed that accuracy of biometric technologies varies across demographic groups – though it did not specifically name travel-related biometric technology.
“Upwards of 90 percent of travelers have said they’re willing to share more information about themselves if it results in a better travel experience,” Freeman told reporters about enhanced data privacy protections with increased use of biometrics. “Where travelers are giving information, they’re confident that that information is protected … We’re confident we’ll have good experiences going forward.”
“The implementation of this technology … is very well overseen and very well thought through congressional committees, privacy impact assessments, statement of records, notices about how the information is protected and used,” McAleenan added. “It’s a really comprehensive network, and probably one of the most carefully evaluated systems for using biometrics, I think, in the world.”
