Beginning in December, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will be scrutinizing passengers boarding any flight that will fly to, from or even over the United States. This includes flights leaving other nations as the requirement to collect additional data from passengers goes into full swing.

Despite objections and concerns from the European Parliament and other nations, the U.S. Secure Flight program, one that checks passenger information against a terrorist watch list, is set to take effect globally in December of 2010. Airlines that fly to, from or over the United States will be required to collect additional information from passengers at least 72 hours before flight, whenever possible, to avoid delays in checking in for a flight.

According to the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA): Airlines or travel agencies acting on their behalf 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 a watch list and better identify individuals that may pose a threat to aviation.

Flyers whose names match a particular list or are a potential match will be questioned further to determine eligibility for travel. If a passenger is subsequently cleared, he or she will be given what is called a redress number to prevent similar delays in the future. Airlines that service or fly over U.S. cities are worknig to modify their web sites and booking procedures to accommodate the additional passenger information. Travel web sites that sell airline tickets are doing the same.