RetroFed
Flight Attendants Reportedly Refusing to Sign Up to New Biometric Controls That Let Them Skip TSA Security Checks
Granbo's Holy Hotrod
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Earlier this month, DHS revealed that it would charge airlines $19 a year per crew member to use CMAP. With a workforce of more than 47,500 pilots and flight attendants, American Airlines faces a $2.64 million annual fee to allow its aircrew to use CMAP… That is, of course, if all crew members consent to their participation in the program.
And the KCM program concludes at the end of 2026. Surprised that airlines — notoriously generous with their money — aren’t protesting the change.
And the thing is, this system already existed without the DHS being involved since 2011. Them suddenly coming in and taking over is ludicrous.
$19 for a full year per employee is actually quite cheap. Wouldn’t surprise me if it’s a lower cost than they had for KCM. Furthermore, it moves liability from the airlines to the government for any security mishaps.
RememberTheApollo_Thing is a lot of them use Global Entry for international travel or have otherwise used travel as a regular passenger where their imaged biometrics were already used to pass through security for travel.
I need to ask around about the rationalization behind the resistance, this seems like fighting a battle that they don’t understand they lost years ago. Like refusing to use an app on an iphone because it sells its data to apple while carrying an iphone that already does that.
E: read the edit below. Bunch of armchair experts have comprehension issues. Don’t make up what I didn’t say.
Nope!
Since 2011, flight attendants and pilots have been able to bypass regular TSA airport security screening through the ‘Known Crewmember’ (KCM) program, which has never been administered by the Department of Homeland Security, but rather as a joint initiative between the Air Line Pilots Association and industry trade group Airlines For America (A4A).
The new system would give data directly over to the DHS. The old system was privately managed and implemented.
Sure those companies COULD hypothetically sell the data to DHS or the DHS could find another way to legally request it, but I think both cases would be highly publicized, e.g. we’re talking about it under one such article.
I’m not sure what you mean by “nope!”
I’m an airline pilot. I deal with this every day at work.
Edit: y’all are unbelievable, just making shit up I didn’t say. I said nothing about KCM, but thanks for assuming I don’t know how that works.
I specifically stated traveling as a passenger and using the TSA’s facial recognition as part of security which absolutely is run by DHS, and I mentioned global entry which is managed by CBP and Trusted Traveler Program which is ALSO run by the DHS.
My image and tens of thousands of other airline crewmembers are already in the system.
So please keep telling me I don’t know what I’m doing at my job. Damn, that’s irritating AF.
Walking through a scanner every day doesn’t mean you understand it or what is done with the data.
Just like sitting in an airplane doesn’t mean I know how to fly it.
Stay in your lane when it comes to claims of expertise sir sky cabbie
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The shift from access control cards to biometrics (fingerprint or facial) is industry-wide, especially for sectors impacted by the Patriot Act. Even maritime workers are increasingly required to have their fingerprint scanned (to be compared to the print of their TWIC). I wish them the best of luck in resisting the safety tyranny.
what fun times we live in
Fuck em. Just wait in the regular tsa line and delay travel.
They don’t get paid until the plane takes off so they’d be doing that for free
They don’t get paid while boarding and when they’re giving out headphones and dealing with drunk people before the plane takes off??
Not on most carriers as far as I know
Ah, the land of the free.
Feels worth it.
How much does the current system cost ?
It’s funny that in Europe, our passports have been biometric for a long time, governments have our fingerprints, but the security at my base doesn’t use it, airport workers and Cabin Crews just have their own security gate
(I’m a Cabin Crew based in Vienna, Austria)
I imagine the fingerprints are optional? I wouldn’t give out my biometrics. That’s like giving out your password
Worse, you can’t just renew it after a leak.
It doesn’t officially say it, but it implies that the current system, they’re sun setting, didn’t have any type of annual fee.
If that is the case, then yeah, I would do the same thing and just not use the program. might be able to backtrack on the agreement to work with the gov as well and just go back to the old system for crew members. Makes no sense to pay more on a system that was working fine as is.
The airlines are in a pretty massive advantage here, delays for flight are already pretty heavily protected legally, as in there are laws baked into the system protecting/restricting airlines being sued for travel delays.
Worst case scenario is they can’t go back to the old program and they just cause mass delays which they can then directly blame the government for with no monetary penalty unless it goes over I think it’s a 6 hour delay.
JFC those fees. Gotta pay those Palantir contracts somehow