Airline fingerprinting? Get real.
The Department of Homeland Security, after failing to figure out a system for controlling departures of foreigners, has dropped it in the lap of the airlines. Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff must be out of his mind.
According to a story in the Washington Post
The proposal does not say where airlines must collect fingerprints — at airport check-in counters, departure gates or kiosks somewhere in between. But the government estimates the undertaking will cost airlines $2.3 billion over 10 years, a U.S. homeland security official said.
Fault doesn’t fall only on the DHS chief, but also on Congress for crafting another bill that can’t be fulfilled without herculean efforts and far more money than they are will in to spend. Airlines already are the agent that checks passports and forwards that information to appropriate authorities. But saddling them with fingerprinting (all 10 fingers?) will cause check-in chaos at the airports and cost them an enormous amount of money to preform a service that is the responsibility of the government.
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Oy. If the gummint wants fingerprints of all departing foreigners, then they better set up departure passport checkpoints at every US airport. Many countries have departure passport control checkpoints.
The mind boggles at the stupidity of this latest measure! Look at today’s chaotic situation at most airports and then imagine this added nuisance. At the departure point nonetheless, what’s the point, rationally explained, which they can’t as everything in this country having to do with security is becoming more irrational by the day. Where will it all end? Only in further gridlock and further loss of freedom of movement and personal rights.