ASTA applauds duplicative baggage screening bill

ASTA is praising the US House of Representatives for its unanimous passage of The No-Hassle Flying Act of 2012 (S. 3542) to eliminate duplicative baggage screening for passengers arriving in the US from so-called “pre-clearance”airports connecting to domestic flights. The bill, sponsored by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) in the Senate and Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) in the House, had passed the Senate (also unanimously) on Nov. 29, and now heads to President Obama’s desk. “Travel agents sell the majority of airline tickets in the US and thus have a vested interest in this legislation’s goal of maximizing the efficiency of baggage screening procedures,”said Nina Meyer, ASTA’s president and interim CEO. “The No-Hassle Flying Act presents a common-sense solution for reducing pressure on the Transportation Security Administration at a time when the country’s fiscal situation calls for the elimination of any and all wasteful government spending.”The No-Hassle Flying Act would let the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) decide whether baggage on flights coming from foreign airports where U.S. Customs and Border Protection has established “pre-clearance operations”(in Canada, the Caribbean and Ireland) need to be re-screened in the United States before continuing on to another flight. TSA’s authority to make these decisions would be limited to flights originating from countries that have an agreement with the US requiring security standards and protocols that are determined to be comparable to US security measures.