Passengers Will Have To Enter Additional Information When Purchasing A Ticket 

Phase Two of TSA's 'Secure Flight' program begins at the end of the week, meaning passengers will be required to enter their date of birth and gender when booking airline flights.

The first phase of the program required passengers to use their full name as it appears on a government-issued ID, such as a drivers license, when booking a flight.

"By enhancing and streamlining the watch list matching process, the Secure Flight program makes travel safer and easier for millions of Americans," TSA Acting Administrator Gale Rossides said when Phase 1 was implemented earlier this year.

Once Secure Flight's advanced technology is fully implemented in early 2010, enhanced watch list matching will be done by the government. Airlines will gather a passenger's name, date of birth, and gender when making an airline reservation to determine if the passenger is a match to the No Fly or Selectee lists. By providing the additional data elements of gender and date of birth, Secure Flight will more effectively help prevent misidentification of passengers who have similar names to individuals on the watch list and better identify individuals that may pose a known or suspected threat to aviation.

TSA's goal is to vet 100 percent of passengers on all domestic commercial flights by early 2010 and 100 percent of passengers on all international commercial flights by the end of 2010.

FMI: www.tsa.gov