DOT Fact Sheet About Air Travel

["Kamran D. Rastegar" <kdr7@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

-----Original Message-----
From: Updates-admin@xxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2001 1:51 PM
To: updates@xxxxxxx
Subject: [ADC Updates] ADC: DOT Issue Fact Sheet About Air Travel


ADC Update:

DOT Issues Fact Sheet About Air Travel

The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) Aviation Consumer 
Protection Division recently issued a fact sheet entitled "Answers to 
Frequently Asked Questions Concerning the Air Travel of People Who Are Or 
May Appear to Be of Arab, Middle Eastern or South Asian Descent and/or 
Muslim or Sikh."  The following is the fact sheet as it appears
on the DOT Website at http://www.dot.gov/airconsumer/01-index.htm :

Fact Sheet

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions Concerning the Air Travel of People 
Who Are Or May Appear to Be of Arab, Middle Eastern or South Asian Descent 
and/or Muslim or Sikh

Since the terrorist hijackings and tragic events of September 11, the 
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued directives to strengthen 
security measures at airline checkpoints, passenger screening locations, and 
boarding gates.  As the Department of Transportation (Department or DOT) 
works to strengthen transportation security in the aftermath of the horrific 
attacks that occurred on September 11, DOT is also continuing its efforts to 
ensure that those new security requirements preserve and respect the civil 
rights of individuals and protect them from unlawful discrimination.  The 
Department is committed to ensuring that all persons are provided equal 
protection of the laws and that no person is subject to unlawful 
discrimination when traveling in the Nation.  Various Federal statutes 
prohibit unlawful discrimination against air travelers because of their 
race, color, religion, ethnicity, or national origin.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, have raised concerns about 
intimidation, harassment and bias directed at individuals who are, or are 
perceived to be, of Arab, Middle Eastern, or South Asian descent and/or 
Muslim or Sikh.  This Fact Sheet provides information about how the 
strengthened security requirements better secure our air transportation 
system and still fully comply with the civil rights laws by providing 
examples of the types of actions that airline or airport personnel may and 
may not take when checking in and screening passengers.  The examples listed 
below are not all-inclusive and are simply meant to provide answers to 
frequently asked questions since September 11 concerning the air travel of 
people who are or may appear to be of Arab, Middle Eastern or South Asian 
descent and/or Muslim or Sikh.

Question: What new DOT/FAA security restrictions on carry-on items should I 
be aware of before I fly on a commercial airliner?

In addition to other weapons, knives of any length, composition or 
description, including kirpans , are prohibited beyond the screener 
checkpoints.   Knives may be placed in checked luggage.

Question: What are my rights when I fly on a commercial airliner?

Individuals who may appear to be of Arab, Middle Eastern or South Asian 
descent and/or Muslim or Sikh have the right to be treated with the same 
respect as persons of other ethnicities and religions, and all persons 
should be treated in a polite, respectful and friendly manner.

Persons or their property may not be subjected to inspection, search and/or 
detention solely because the persons appear to be Arab, Middle Eastern, 
Asian, and/or Muslim or Sikh; or solely because they speak Arabic, Farsi, or 
another foreign language; or solely because they speak with an accent that 
may lead another person to believe they are Arab, Middle Eastern, Asian, 
and/or Muslim or Sikh.

Individuals may not be selected for additional screening based solely on 
appearance or mode of dress that is associated with a particular national 
origin or religion.  For example, selecting a woman for additional screening 
solely because her hair is covered or she is wearing a veil, as some Muslim 
women do, is unlawful discrimination.  Selecting a man for additional 
screening solely because he is wearing a long beard or hair covering, as 
some Muslim men do, is unlawful discrimination.  Likewise, selecting a man 
for additional screening solely because he is wearing a turban, as some Sikh 
men and women do, is unlawful discrimination.

Persons and their property may not be denied boarding or removed from an 
aircraft solely because the person appears to be Arab, Middle Eastern, 
Asian, and/or Muslim or Sikh; or solely because they speak Arabic, Farsi, or 
another foreign language; or solely because they speak with an accent that 
may lead airline or airport personnel to believe they are Arab, Middle 
Eastern, Asian, and/or Muslim or Sikh.

Question: What can I expect as I go through the security screening process 
at the airport?

During the check-in process, names of passengers may be compared to an FBI 
watch list to ensure the safety of the traveling public.

Knives found during the security screening of persons and their carry-on 
luggage will be confiscated and a ground security officer and/or law 
enforcement coordinator may be notified.  Kirpans that are found during 
security screening will also be confiscated if not placed in checked luggage 
or removed from the airport by someone not entering the secure area.

Some passengers will be selected for additional screening on a random basis 
when crossing the screener checkpoints.   The additional screening often 
consists of the use of a hand held metal detector in conjunction with a 
pat-down search, and the search may become more thorough if the initial 
search indicates that a prohibited item may be concealed.

Individuals who pass through a metal detector without setting off the device 
may be subjected to additional screening if the individual is properly 
selected on a truly random basis.   Similarly, where a turbaned Sikh passes 
through a metal detector without setting off the device, the Sikh may be 
subjected to additional screening if the Sikh is properly selected on a 
truly random basis.

Passengers who pass through a metal detector and set off the device will be 
subjected to additional screening through the use of a hand held metal 
detector if they wish to go beyond the screening checkpoint.  Where a hand 
held metal detector is not available, the passengers will be subjected to a 
manual pat down as a means of ensuring that a prohibited item is not being 
carried.  Similarly, where a turbaned Sikh passes through a metal detector 
and the device is set off, the screener should, where available, use a hand 
held metal detector around the turban to determine if there is a risk of a 
prohibited item being
concealed.

Passengers whose heads trigger the hand held metal detector will be 
subjected to a manual pat down including probing of the hair if they wish to 
go beyond the screener checkpoint.  Similarly, where a turbaned Sikh 
triggers the hand held metal detector when it is near or over his or her 
head, then a manual pat down including probing of the turban and hair is 
necessary if the Sikh wishes to go beyond the screener checkpoint.   
Screening personnel must request permission to touch a person and his/her 
clothing, particularly the hair or turban of a Sikh, prior to doing so.

In instances where a manual pat down indicates that a prohibited item may be 
concealed or the pat down is insufficient to make such a determination, then 
the passenger will be more thoroughly searched if he/she wishes to go beyond 
the screening checkpoint.  Similarly, where a manual pat down of a turbaned 
Sikh?s head indicates that the Sikh may be carrying a prohibited item in 
his/her hair or the pat down is not helpful in making such a determination, 
then the Sikh?s turban must be
searched, if the Sikh wishes to go beyond the screening checkpoint.  Again, 
screening personnel must request permission to touch a person and his/her 
clothing, particularly the hair or turban of a Sikh, prior to doing so.

If a search or inspection involving the removal of clothing is necessary for 
safety or security reasons, screeners should provide the person involved a 
choice of a public or private inspection.  Private searches may be perceived 
to be overly intimidating while public searches may be viewed as humiliating 
or may violate an individual?s religious tenets.  For example, the removal 
of a Muslim woman?s veil in public or in the presence of a man, not her 
husband, will violate her religious beliefs.  Likewise, a Sikh?s turban is a 
religious article of faith and a public search will likely create great 
embarrassment and fear for the Sikh.  After a turban search in private, a 
Sikh should be provided a mirror to
retie his or her turban.

Passengers identified by the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System 
(CAPPS) as selectees, including those selected by a computer at random, will 
be subjected to additional screening at the boarding gate in addition to 
having their checked baggage being subject to additional security 
requirements.  The CAPPS selection criteria have been reviewed
by the Department of Justice to ensure that the methods of passenger 
selection are non-discriminatory and do not constitute impermissible 
profiling of passengers on the basis of their race, color, religion, 
ethnicity, or national origin.   The additional screening will consist of a 
search of carry-on items and the search of the person through the use of a 
hand held metal detector in conjunction with a pat-down search.  The search 
may become more intrusive if the initial search indicates that a prohibited 
item may be concealed.

Question: How do screeners determine when additional security screening is 
appropriate?

All available facts and circumstances must be taken into account in 
identifying persons or property that may be a safety or security risk.  
Although the screeners? actions  could, at times, appear to be offensive to 
the person involved, screeners would continue to be justified in conducting 
additional questioning, inspections or searches, for safety or security 
reasons, in certain situations; for example: a person wearing a turban or 
head dress, while being searched at an airport security checkpoint, triggers 
the handheld metal detector when it is near his or her head; or a veiled 
woman shows photo identification to prove her identity but it is difficult 
to conclude that this woman is the same person as the woman in the photo 
without checking her face.  When it is necessary to verify the identity of a 
veiled woman, whenever possible, her face should be checked by female safety 
or security personnel in private or only in the presence of other women so 
as not to
violate her religious tenets.

Airline and airport personnel must use the ?but/for? test to help determine 
the justification for their actions. But for this person?s perceived race, 
ethnic heritage or religious orientation, would I have subjected this 
individual to additional safety or security scrutiny? If the answer is ?no,? 
then the action may violate civil rights laws.

Question: What can I do if I believe that my rights have been violated?

Members of the public, who feel they have been the subject of discriminatory 
actions or treatment by air carriers, may file a
complaint by sending an email, a letter, or a completed complaint form to 
the Aviation Consumer Protection Division (ACPD).  ACPD?s e-mail address is 
airconsumer@xxxxxxxxxxx and its mailing address is:

Aviation Consumer Protection Division, U.S. Department of Transportation
Room 4107, C-75
Washington, DC  20590

Complaint forms that consumers may download and/or print are available at
http://www.dot.gov/airconsumer/problems.htm .

Issued on 11/19/01 by the Office of the Assistant General Counsel for 
Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings and its Aviation Consumer Protection 
Division.




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