Travel Group Says Response Time Needs Improvement

If you've ever been on the Department of Homeland Security's passenger watch-list, you know how aggravating the situation can be (as a handful of ANN staffers can attest.) This week, the DHS launched a website allowing travelers who believe they've been incorrectly included on the list to plead their case.

Business Travel News reports the agency's Traveler Redress Inquiry Program allows fliers to submit a form that lists what, specifically, led to the false-positive. The DHS will then contact the passenger, and inform them what further documentation is required to solve the problem. Those forms must be filled out and submitted within 30 days.

It's a start... but the head of one travel association says the website does little to help a passenger at the counter, wondering why he or she is having such a tough time getting on their flight to Orlando.

"The Traveler Redress Inquiry Program must work considerably faster than the 30 days (minimum time) previously cited to get off the No-Fly list. Ideally, the process should take less than a day," said Association of Corporate Travel Executives president Greeley Koch, in a letter to DHS.

A spokesperson with the Transportation Security Administration told BTN the agency usually responds to inquiries within 10 days, but other agencies may take longer. The government will monitor response times, the spokesperson added.

Koch also raised concerns that even if a passenger is successful in clearing his or her name, that information may be slow to hit other government agencies.

"The information received will be shared with applicable DHS component agencies, such as the Transportation Security Administration and US Customs and Border Protection, as well as with the Department of State and when appropriate with airport and airline operators," said a Homeland Security statement.

Just remember... they're the government, and they're here to help. Honest.

FMI: www.dhs.gov/trip