"There's a question of who's picking up for the leadership that has left," said an aviation industry source, who does business with the department and so spoke on condition of anonymity. Asa Hutchinson, who left his post as the undersecretary of border and transportation security, was the driving force behind the integration of all traveler identification programs. "It was really Asa's baby," the source said.
Two companies that won initial contracts to operate the high-tech kiosks at the five airports, Electronic Data Systems Corp. (EDS) and Unisys Corp., said agency officials told them they intend to integrate the registered traveler program's technologies with the other DHS programs, but agency officials have not said how. The companies received a $5 million contract extension earlier this month to continue operating the program through the end of September.
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"I don't think they want this to be a one-off program that does not take into consideration the integration with other programs," said Larry Zmuda, a partner of Unisys's homeland security group that is overseeing the company's registered traveler program at Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Houston.
EDS manages the program at National and Boston's Logan International Airport, which partner with American Airlines. Unisys and EDS said that they have a high rate of accuracy in identifying their members using the technology and that the program has been a success.
The TSA also has not resolved whether it or its contractors would maintain the database of trusted travelers. TSA officials said they would conduct the background check. But other companies, such as Verified Identity Pass Inc., headed by American Lawyer magazine founder Steven Brill, propose to conduct a preliminary identity check on each applicant and maintain the passenger database in hopes of linking it to other government programs or to other companies.
The TSA's Oberman said the experiment at Orlando, which is expected to partner with Brill's company, will explore how a privately run system might work.
Some registered travelers said they hope the TSA can work out the kinks in the technology used to capture fingerprints and iris scans. Physician William Robertson said the kiosk for registered travelers at National Airport did not recognize him one of the three times he used it. "I would not pay for it," he said, given its unreliability.
Luckily, he said, "the woman who registered me [for the program] was there. She said, 'I know you,' " and let him through anyway.
