80 FR 79067 - Revision of Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review: Secure Flight Program

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Transportation Security Administration

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 243 (December 18, 2015)

This notice announces that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has forwarded the Information Collection Request (ICR), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number 1652-0046, abstracted below to OMB for review and approval of a revision to the currently approved collection under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected burden. TSA published a Federal Register notice, with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments, of the following collection of information on February 4, 2015, 80 FR 6097. The collection involves information that certain U.S. aircraft operators and foreign air carriers (collectively ``covered aircraft operators'') submit to Secure Flight for the purposes of identifying and protecting against potential and actual threats to transportation security and identifying individuals who are a lower risk to transportation security and therefore may be eligible for expedited screening. TSA is revising this collection to include the addition of risk-based assessments generated by aircraft operators using data in their Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening Systems (CAPPS), Frequent Flyer Code Words (FFCWs) generated by aircraft operators, and the collection of lists of low- risk individuals provided by non-federal entities who are eligible for expedited screening. The CAPPS assessments and FFCWs are used in risk- based analysis of Secure Flight and other prescreening data that produces a boarding pass printing result (BPPR) for each passenger.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 243 (Friday, December 18, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79067-79068]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-31911]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Transportation Security Administration

[Docket No. TSA-2007-28572]


Revision of Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB 
Review: Secure Flight Program

AGENCY: Transportation Security Administration, DHS.

ACTION: 30-day notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces that the Transportation Security 
Administration (TSA) has forwarded the Information Collection Request 
(ICR), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number 1652-0046, 
abstracted below to OMB for review and approval of a revision to the 
currently approved collection under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). 
The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its 
expected burden. TSA published a Federal Register notice, with a 60-day 
comment period soliciting comments, of the following collection of 
information on February 4, 2015, 80 FR 6097. The collection involves 
information that certain U.S. aircraft operators and foreign air 
carriers (collectively ``covered aircraft operators'') submit to Secure 
Flight for the purposes of identifying and protecting against potential 
and actual threats to transportation security and identifying 
individuals who are a lower risk to transportation security and 
therefore may be eligible for expedited screening. TSA is revising this 
collection to include the addition of risk-based assessments generated 
by aircraft operators using data in their Computer Assisted Passenger 
Prescreening Systems (CAPPS), Frequent Flyer Code Words (FFCWs) 
generated by aircraft operators, and the collection of lists of low-
risk individuals provided by non-federal entities who are eligible for 
expedited screening. The CAPPS assessments and FFCWs are used in risk-
based analysis of Secure Flight and other prescreening data that 
produces a boarding pass printing result (BPPR) for each passenger.

DATES: Send your comments by January 19, 2016. A comment to OMB is most 
effective if OMB receives it within 30 days of publication.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on 
the proposed information collection to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, OMB. Comments should be addressed to Desk Officer, 
Department of Homeland Security/TSA, and sent via electronic mail to 
[email protected] or faxed to (202) 395-6974.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christina A. Walsh, TSA PRA Officer, 
Office of Information Technology (OIT), TSA-11, Transportation Security 
Administration, 601 South 12th Street, Arlington, VA 20598-6011; 
telephone (571) 227-2062; email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq.), an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is 
not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it 
displays a valid OMB control

[[Page 79068]]

number. The ICR documentation is available at http://www.reginfo.gov. 
Therefore, in preparation for OMB review and approval of the following 
information collection, TSA is soliciting comments to:
    (1) Evaluate whether the proposed information requirement is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    (2) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden;
    (3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    (4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including using appropriate automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms 
of information technology.

Information Collection Requirement

    Title: Secure Flight Program.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    OMB Control Number: 1652-0046.
    Form(s): N/A.
    Affected Public: Aircraft operators, airport operators.
    Abstract: TSA collects information from covered aircraft operators, 
including foreign air carriers, in order to prescreen passengers under 
the Secure Flight Program. The information collected under the Secure 
Flight Program is used for watch list matching, for matching against 
lists of Known Travelers, and to assess passenger risk (e.g., to 
identify passengers who present lower risk and may be eligible for 
expedited screening). The collection covers:
    (1) Secure Flight Passenger Data (SFPD) for passengers of covered 
domestic and international flights within, to, from, or over the 
continental United States, as well as flights between two foreign 
locations when operated by a covered U.S. aircraft operator;
    (2) SFPD for passengers of charter operators and lessors of 
aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of over 12,500 pounds;
    (3) certain identifying information for non-traveling individuals 
that airport operators or airport operator points of contact seek to 
authorize to enter a sterile area at a U.S. airport, for example, to 
patronize a restaurant, to escort a minor or a passenger with 
disabilities, or for another approved purpose; and
    (4) registration information critical to deployment of Secure 
Flight, such as contact information, data format, or the mechanism the 
covered aircraft operators use to transmit SFPD and other data.
    TSA is revising this collection to add the following additional 
categories of information:
    (5) Risk-based assessments generated by U.S. aircraft operators 
using their CAPPS are sent to Secure Flight for use in risk-based 
analysis of passenger information. The CAPPS assessments are generated 
after analysis of the underlying passenger and other prescreening data 
is obtained by the aircraft operator in the ordinary course of business 
when the passenger makes his or her reservation. The CAPPS assessment, 
in turn, is used in the risk-based analysis of SFPD and other 
prescreening data that produce a BPPR for each passenger. Secure Flight 
receives only the risk assessment generated from the applicable CAPPS 
data and not the underlying data. TSA obtains important security value 
from the risk assessment without receiving the underlying privacy and 
other information that are generated when individuals make their flight 
reservations. The CAPPS assessments are designed to enhance TSA's 
analysis of passenger security risk and enable TSA to make better 
passenger risk decisions. A likely outcome of the addition of CAPPS 
risk assessments to Secure Flight's risk-based analysis will be the 
identification of additional low-risk passengers who may be eligible 
for expedited security screening at airports with TSA 
Pre[check][supreg] lanes.
    (6) FFCW generated by aircraft operators also are sent to Secure 
Flight regarding passengers who are frequent flyer program members. 
These data also are used in Secure Flight's risk-based analysis and may 
result in a passenger being eligible for expedited screening.
    (7) Lists of low-risk individuals who are eligible for expedited 
screening provided by Federal and non-federal entities. In support of 
TSA Pre[check][supreg], TSA implemented expedited screening of known or 
low-risk travelers. Federal and non-federal list entities provide TSA 
with a list of eligible low-risk individuals to be used as part of 
Secure Flight processes. Secure Flight identifies individuals who 
should receive low risk screening and transmits the appropriate 
boarding pass printing result to the aircraft operators.
    Both the CAPPS risk assessments and the FFCWs are generated from 
existing data within aircraft operators' reservations or other systems. 
The systemic changes required to send these data to Secure Flight 
varies by aircraft operator.
    Number of Respondents: 292.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours: An estimated 678,295 \1\ hours 
annually.
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    \1\ After further evaluation, TSA has revised the estimated 
annual burden hours in the 60-day notice, published February 4, 
2015, from 678,245 to 678,295.

    Dated: December 9, 2015.
Christina A. Walsh,
TSA Paperwork Reduction Act Officer, Office of Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2015-31911 Filed 12-17-15; 8:45 am]
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