Air Travelers May Be Assigned Color Codes

The Associated Press ^ | 09/09/03 | Staff Writer

[bedolido]

U.S. Prepares to Assign Color Codes to Air Travelers; Critics Fear System Will Be Too Intrusive.

WASHINGTON Sept. 9 — The government and the airlines reportedly will phase in a computer system next year to measure the risk of every passenger who boards a flight in the United States by using color codes.

According to the Washington Post, passengers will be assigned one of three codes, based in part on their travel plans, traveling companions and the date the ticket was purchased. Sources say those coded "green" will easily pass through security checkpoints. Others will be coded "yellow" and face additional screening. An estimated 1 to 2 percent who get "red" coding will be barred from boarding and face police questioning. They may be arrested.

Critics fear the new system will be far too intrusive, and that some people will be mistakenly "flagged" and even falsely arrested.

Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[DB]

"An estimated 1 to 2 percent who get "red" coding will be barred from boarding and face police questioning. They may be arrested."

So one out of fifty to one hundred passengers is going to flagged red??? That's going to do wonders for their business...

[RonF]

I often buy airline tickets less than a week ahead of time. That'll get me "yellow", I bet, especially since I'm flying from Chicago to Boston and back.

[Reeses]

It isn't easy being green.

[finnman69]

So if you look like this you get a red flag right?

[kinghorse]

I got no problem with this. But then I'm a white male over 40.

[Michael Barnes]

But then I'm a white male over 40.

Code red for you buddy. I bet you drive a white cargo van too

;)

[1Old Pro]

What's the deal with color coding everything?? Is it really so simple that we need only 3 categories?

[tdadams]

No, anyone from the Middle East automatically gets a green. We simply can't risk looking politically incorrect.

[Montfort]

It may turn out to be a good thing, but I can't help but suspect that in the end you will not get the best security rating unless you have been barcoded or "chipped" somehow.

Also, I would imagine that law enforcement folks tend to be particularly mean to people when they are SURE they have the right person. This system may give them a sense of false security that they can lean on you hard when you pop up as a red risk because someone stole your identity and purchased suspicious items using your identity. They will think that they are only doing good work when they lean on your like you are Osama himself and make you sit in bright light and deprive you of bathroom breaks or whatever other things police do these days to break down the bad guys. (Pretty nice compared to most of the rest of the world, I know, but then we have a greater degree of freedom here than folks like the even the relatively civilized French would ever understand.)

On the other hand, it will mean that more cases of identity theft will be uncovered, but do you want to be the person who the TSA folks are CERTAIN is a bad guy because of what some hoodlum did using your identity?

[bedolido]

if it's someone paying cash a few days before a flight with no luggage and wears a turbin and has an AK47 hidden under his skirt (whatever they're called)... I'd say... he should have a Red ticket.

[chimera]

No way. That would be too indicative of racial profiling. If this goes the way of passenger screening, look for a lot of old women and kids flagged with the dreaded red cards, while swarthy middle eastern-looking males get the green.

[ElkGroveDan]

Great. Will we all now have our own waiting areas and drinking fountains?

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

Probably not. More likely if you are frail, white and a grandmother of five.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Y'know, when I think about it, has anybody seen Ron Jeremy and that guy in the same room?

[billbears]

'Homeland' Security strikes again. Note this is not part of the 87 billion the President just asked for. For that there will be an entirely different speech looking for another handout. To implement something like this will probably run a good 100 billion at least!!

[finnman69]

WHOOOOPP WHOOOOP WHOOOOP! RED FLAG! RED FLAG!

[Brian S]

Perhaps they should consider "tattoos" for a more permanent "branding"...

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

Approach with extreme caution!

Suspect appears ready to survive a bio-toxin or gas attack!

[bedolido]

kinda sounds that way. getting weird