US to let people apply to get off no-fly lists

WASHINGTON, Jan 18 (Reuters) The Bush administration yesterday said it will launch a new travel security system next month designed to deal with the problem of travelers mistakenly being listed on US no-fly lists.

The Department of Homeland Security Traveler Redress Inquiry Program, dubbed DHS TRIP, is billed as a voluntary one-stop process allowing people to seek a review if they have been wrongly delayed or prevented from boarding a plane or barred from entering or leaving the United States.

DHS said in a statement the program will begin February 20 under management of the Transportation Security Administration.

Travel security procedures tightened after the September 11 attacks have become a bane for more than 31,000 innocent people each year whose names are judged to be suspiciously similar to those on government terrorism or criminal watch lists.

Victims have included babies, US lawmakers including Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, and the former music superstar Cat Stevens, who is now known as Yusuf Islam.

But up until now, there has been little effective recourse for travelers.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in the DHS statement that he hoped the new programme would help repair America's reputation in the world as ''a welcoming nation to legitimate travelers.'' The DHS TRIP program will require travelers who want a review to enter personal details, including their travel experience, on an online inquiry form. The form is then forwarded to a centralised office for review requests and sent on to the relevant DHS agency.

The government estimates that each traveler would spend about an hour filling out and submitting the form.

The Bush administration is under fire from rights advocates who accuse it of illegally using personal data to formulate risk assessments on individual travelers.

Government officials say their tactics are common-sense efforts to protect the United States from attack.

REUTERS PKS BST0441