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Reg. traveler test ends: U.S. considers findings as private airport programs proliferate.

Article Excerpt
The federal government late last week ended a 14-month test of its Registered Traveler program that let frequent travelers who voluntarily underwent a background check speed through security checkpoints at five major airports. Although officials indicated the federal program may return in some form, experts suggested that the ongoing, privately administered program at Orlando International Airport may become the model for a more permanent trusted traveler initiative.

Airport officials in Boston and Indianapolis last week said they may adopt a similar model, which would allow residents of those cities to pay up to $80 per year for the privilege of a streamlined security screening. Experts also questioned how a trusted traveler program would dovetail with efforts by the Transportation Safety Administration to expand Secure Flight, a controversial program that screens airline passengers for suspected terrorists.

Boston is one of the five airports where the government since July 2004 had tested the program. More than 10,000 travelers were cleared for speedy security checks there or in Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis or Washington's Reagan National Airport.

The government's fiscal year ended Friday and President George W. Bush's budget request for the year beginning Oct. 1 contained no funds to keep Registered Traveler going. TSA head Kip Hawley told a luncheon...

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