1. U.S. Code
  2. title 49
  3. subtitle VII
  4. part A
  5. subpartiii
  6. chapter 449
  7. subchapter I
  8. § 44903

Collapse to view only § 44903. Air transportation security

§ 44901. Screening passengers and property
(a)In General.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall provide for the screening of all passengers and property, including United States mail, cargo, carry-on and checked baggage, and other articles, that will be carried aboard a passenger aircraft operated by an air carrier or foreign air carrier in air transportation or intrastate air transportation. In the case of flights and flight segments originating in the United States, the screening shall take place before boarding and shall be carried out by a Federal Government employee (as defined in section 2105 of title 5), except as otherwise provided in section 44920 and except for identifying passengers and baggage for screening under the CAPPS and known shipper programs and conducting positive bag-match programs.
(b)Supervision of Screening.—All screening of passengers and property at airports in the United States where screening is required under this section shall be supervised by uniformed Federal personnel of the Transportation Security Administration who shall have the power to order the dismissal of any individual performing such screening.
(c)Checked Baggage.—A system must be in operation to screen all checked baggage at all airports in the United States as soon as practicable.
(d)Explosives Detection Systems.—
(1)In general.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall take all necessary action to ensure that—
(A) explosives detection systems are deployed as soon as possible to ensure that all United States airports described in section 44903(c) have sufficient explosives detection systems to screen all checked baggage, and that as soon as such systems are in place at an airport, all checked baggage at the airport is screened by those systems; and
(B) all systems deployed under subparagraph (A) are fully utilized; and
(C) if explosives detection equipment at an airport is unavailable, all checked baggage is screened by an alternative means.
(2)Preclearance airports.—
(A)In general.—For a flight or flight segment originating at an airport outside the United States and traveling to the United States with respect to which checked baggage has been screened in accordance with an aviation security preclearance agreement between the United States and the country in which such airport is located, the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration may, in coordination with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, determine whether such baggage must be re-screened in the United States by an explosives detection system before such baggage continues on any additional flight or flight segment.
(B)Aviation security preclearance agreement defined.—In this paragraph, the term “aviation security preclearance agreement” means an agreement that delineates and implements security standards and protocols that are determined by the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, in coordination with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, to be comparable to those of the United States and therefore sufficiently effective to enable passengers to deplane into sterile areas of airports in the United States.
(C)Rescreening requirement.—If the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration determines that the government of a foreign country has not maintained security standards and protocols comparable to those of the United States at airports at which preclearance operations have been established in accordance with this paragraph, the Administrator shall ensure that Transportation Security Administration personnel rescreen passengers arriving from such airports and their property in the United States before such passengers are permitted into sterile areas of airports in the United States.
(D)Report.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate an annual report on the re-screening of baggage under this paragraph. Each such report shall include the following for the year covered by the report:
(i) A list of airports outside the United States from which a flight or flight segment traveled to the United States for which the Administrator determined, in accordance with the authority under subparagraph (A), that checked baggage was not required to be re-screened in the United States by an explosives detection system before such baggage continued on an additional flight or flight segment.
(ii) The amount of Federal savings generated from the exercise of such authority.
(e)Mandatory Screening Where EDS Not Yet Available.—As soon as practicable and until the requirements of subsection (b)(1)(A) are met, the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall require alternative means for screening any piece of checked baggage that is not screened by an explosives detection system. Such alternative means may include 1 or more of the following:
(1) A bag-match program that ensures that no checked baggage is placed aboard an aircraft unless the passenger who checked the baggage is aboard the aircraft.
(2) Manual search.
(3) Search by canine explosives detection units in combination with other means.
(4) Other means or technology approved by the Administrator.
(f)Cargo Deadline.—A system must be in operation to screen, inspect, or otherwise ensure the security of all cargo that is to be transported in all-cargo aircraft in air transportation and intrastate air transportation as soon as practicable.
(g)Air Cargo on Passenger Aircraft.—
(1)In general.—The Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish a system to screen 100 percent of cargo transported on passenger aircraft operated by an air carrier or foreign air carrier in air transportation or intrastate air transportation to ensure the security of all such passenger aircraft carrying cargo.
(2)Minimum standards.—The system referred to in paragraph (1) shall require, at a minimum, that equipment, technology, procedures, personnel, or other methods approved by the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, are used to screen cargo carried on passenger aircraft described in paragraph (1) to provide a level of security commensurate with the level of security for the screening of passenger checked baggage.
(3)Regulations.—The Secretary of Homeland Security shall issue a final rule as a permanent regulation to implement this subsection in accordance with the provisions of chapter 5 of title 5.
(4)Screening defined.—In this subsection the term “screening” means a physical examination or non-intrusive methods of assessing whether cargo poses a threat to transportation security. Methods of screening include x-ray systems, explosives detection systems, explosives trace detection, explosives detection canine teams certified by the Transportation Security Administration, or a physical search together with manifest verification. The Administrator may approve additional methods to ensure that the cargo does not pose a threat to transportation security and to assist in meeting the requirements of this subsection. Such additional cargo screening methods shall not include solely performing a review of information about the contents of cargo or verifying the identity of a shipper of the cargo that is not performed in conjunction with other security methods authorized under this subsection, including whether a known shipper is registered in the known shipper database. Such additional cargo screening methods may include a program to certify the security methods used by shippers pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) and alternative screening methods pursuant to exemptions referred to in subsection (b) of section 1602 of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007.
(h)Deployment of Armed Personnel.—
(1)In general.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall order the deployment of law enforcement personnel authorized to carry firearms at each airport security screening location to ensure passenger safety and national security.
(2)Minimum requirements.—Except at airports required to enter into agreements under subsection (c), the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall order the deployment of at least 1 law enforcement officer at each airport security screening location. At the 100 largest airports in the United States, in terms of annual passenger enplanements for the most recent calendar year for which data are available, the Administrator shall order the deployment of additional law enforcement personnel at airport security screening locations if the Administrator determines that the additional deployment is necessary to ensure passenger safety and national security.
(i)Exemptions and Advising Congress on Regulations.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration—
(1) may exempt from this section air transportation operations, except scheduled passenger operations of an air carrier providing air transportation under a certificate issued under section 41102 of this title or a permit issued under section 41302 of this title; and
(2) shall advise Congress of a regulation to be prescribed under this section at least 30 days before the effective date of the regulation, unless the Administrator decides an emergency exists requiring the regulation to become effective in fewer than 30 days and notifies Congress of that decision.
(j)Blast-Resistant Cargo Containers.—
(1)In general.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall—
(A) evaluate the results of the blast-resistant cargo container pilot program that was initiated before August 3, 2007; and
(B) prepare and distribute through the Aviation Security Advisory Committee to the appropriate Committees 1
1 So in original. Probably should be “committees”.
of Congress and air carriers a report on that evaluation which may contain nonclassified and classified sections.
(2)Acquisition, maintenance, and replacement.—Upon completion and consistent with the results of the evaluation that paragraph (1)(A) requires, the Administrator shall—
(A) develop and implement a program, as the Administrator determines appropriate, to acquire, maintain, and replace blast-resistant cargo containers;
(B) pay for the program; and
(C) make available blast-resistant cargo containers to air carriers pursuant to paragraph (3).
(3)Distribution to air carriers.—The Administrator shall make available, beginning not later than July 1, 2008, blast-resistant cargo containers to air carriers for use on a risk managed basis as determined by the Administrator.
(k)General Aviation Airport Security Program.—
(1)In general.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall—
(A) develop a standardized threat and vulnerability assessment program for general aviation airports (as defined in section 47134(m)); 2
2 See References in Text note below.
and
(B) implement a program to perform such assessments on a risk-managed basis at general aviation airports.
(2)Grant program.—The Administrator shall initiate and complete a study of the feasibility of a program, based on a risk-managed approach, to provide grants to operators of general aviation airports (as defined in section 47134(m)) 1 for projects to upgrade security at such airports. If the Administrator determines that such a program is feasible, the Administrator shall establish such a program.
(3)Application to general aviation aircraft.—The Administrator shall develop a risk-based system under which—
(A) general aviation aircraft, as identified by the Administrator, in coordination with the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, are required to submit passenger information and advance notification requirements for United States Customs and Border Protection before entering United States airspace; and
(B) such information is checked against appropriate databases.
(4)Authorization of appropriations.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration such sums as may be necessary to carry out paragraphs (2) and (3).
(l)Limitations on Use of Advanced Imaging Technology for Screening Passengers.—
(1)Definitions.—In this subsection, the following definitions apply:
(A)Advanced imaging technology.—The term “advanced imaging technology”—
(i) means a device used in the screening of passengers that creates a visual image of an individual showing the surface of the skin and revealing other objects on the body; and
(ii) may include devices using backscatter x-rays or millimeter waves and devices referred to as “whole-body imaging technology” or “body scanning machines”.
(B)Appropriate congressional committees.—The term “appropriate congressional committees” means—
(i) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and
(ii) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives.
(C)Automatic target recognition software.—The term “automatic target recognition software” means software installed on an advanced imaging technology that produces a generic image of the individual being screened that is the same as the images produced for all other screened individuals.
(2)Use of advanced imaging technology.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall ensure that any advanced imaging technology used for the screening of passengers under this section—
(A) is equipped with and employs automatic target recognition software; and
(B) complies with such other requirements as the Administrator determines necessary to address privacy considerations.
(3)Extension.—
(A)In general.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration may extend the deadline specified in paragraph (2), if the Administrator determines that—
(i) an advanced imaging technology equipped with automatic target recognition software is not substantially as effective at screening passengers as an advanced imaging technology without such software; or
(ii) additional testing of such software is necessary.
(B)Duration of extensions.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration may issue one or more extensions under subparagraph (A). The duration of each extension may not exceed one year.
(4)Reports.—
(A)In general.—Not later than 60 days after the date on which the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration issues any extension under paragraph (3), the Administrator shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the implementation of this subsection.
(B)Elements.—A report submitted under subparagraph (A) shall include the following:
(i) A description of all matters the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration considers relevant to the implementation of the requirements of this subsection.
(ii) The status of compliance by the Transportation Security Administration with such requirements.
(iii) If the Administration is not in full compliance with such requirements—(I) the reasons for the noncompliance; and(II) a timeline depicting when the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration expects the Administration to achieve full compliance.
(C)Security classification.—To the greatest extent practicable, a report prepared under subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in an unclassified format. If necessary, the report may include a classified annex.
(Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1204; Pub. L. 107–71, title I, §§ 101(f)(7), 110(b), Nov. 19, 2001, 115 Stat. 603, 614; Pub. L. 107–296, title IV, § 425, Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2185; Pub. L. 110–53, title XVI, §§ 1602(a), 1609, 1617, Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 477, 484, 488; Pub. L. 112–95, title VIII, § 826, Feb. 14, 2012, 126 Stat. 132; Pub. L. 112–218, § 2, Dec. 20, 2012, 126 Stat. 1593; Pub. L. 114–125, title VIII, § 815, Feb. 24, 2016, 130 Stat. 220; Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, §§ 1937(b)(3), 1991(d)(1), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3579, 3627.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44901

§ 44902. Refusal to transport passengers and property
(a)Mandatory Refusal.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall prescribe regulations requiring an air carrier, intrastate air carrier, or foreign air carrier to refuse to transport—
(1) a passenger who does not consent to a search under section 44901(a) of this title establishing whether the passenger is carrying unlawfully a dangerous weapon, explosive, or other destructive substance; or
(2) property of a passenger who does not consent to a search of the property establishing whether the property unlawfully contains a dangerous weapon, explosive, or other destructive substance.
(b)Permissive Refusal.—Subject to regulations of the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, an air carrier, intrastate air carrier, or foreign air carrier may refuse to transport a passenger or property the carrier decides is, or might be, inimical to safety.
(c)Agreeing to Consent to Search.—An agreement to carry passengers or property in air transportation or intrastate air transportation by an air carrier, intrastate air carrier, or foreign air carrier is deemed to include an agreement that the passenger or property will not be carried if consent to search the passenger or property for a purpose referred to in this section is not given.
(Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1204; Pub. L. 107–71, title I, § 101(f)(7), (9), Nov. 19, 2001, 115 Stat. 603; Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, § 1991(d)(2), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3630.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44902

§ 44903. Air transportation security
(a)Definitions.—In this section:
(1)Administrator.—The term “Administrator” means the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration.
(2)Law enforcement personnel.—The term “law enforcement personnel” means individuals—
(A) authorized to carry and use firearms;
(B) vested with the degree of the police power of arrest the Administrator considers necessary to carry out this section; and
(C) identifiable by appropriate indicia of authority.
(b)Protection Against Violence and Piracy.—The Administrator shall prescribe regulations to protect passengers and property on an aircraft operating in air transportation or intrastate air transportation against an act of criminal violence or aircraft piracy. When prescribing a regulation under this subsection, the Administrator shall—
(1) consult with the Secretary of Transportation, the Attorney General, the heads of other departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the United States Government, and State and local authorities;
(2) consider whether a proposed regulation is consistent with—
(A) protecting passengers; and
(B) the public interest in promoting air transportation and intrastate air transportation;
(3) to the maximum extent practicable, require a uniform procedure for searching and detaining passengers and property to ensure—
(A) their safety; and
(B) courteous and efficient treatment by an air carrier, an agent or employee of an air carrier, and Government, State, and local law enforcement personnel carrying out this section; and
(4) consider the extent to which a proposed regulation will carry out this section.
(c)Security Programs.—
(1) The Administrator shall prescribe regulations under subsection (b) of this section that require each operator of an airport regularly serving an air carrier holding a certificate issued by the Secretary of Transportation to establish an air transportation security program that provides a law enforcement presence and capability at each of those airports that is adequate to ensure the safety of passengers. The regulations shall authorize the operator to use the services of qualified State, local, and private law enforcement personnel. When the Administrator decides, after being notified by an operator in the form the Administrator prescribes, that not enough qualified State, local, and private law enforcement personnel are available to carry out subsection (b), the Administrator may authorize the operator to use, on a reimbursable basis, personnel employed by the Administrator, or by another department, agency, or instrumentality of the Government with the consent of the head of the department, agency, or instrumentality, to supplement State, local, and private law enforcement personnel. When deciding whether additional personnel are needed, the Administrator shall consider the number of passengers boarded at the airport, the extent of anticipated risk of criminal violence or aircraft piracy at the airport or to the air carrier aircraft operations at the airport, and the availability of qualified State or local law enforcement personnel at the airport.
(2)
(A) The Administrator may approve a security program of an airport operator, or an amendment in an existing program, that incorporates a security program of an airport tenant (except an air carrier separately complying with part 108 or 129 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations) having access to a secured area of the airport, if the program or amendment incorporates—
(i) the measures the tenant will use, within the tenant’s leased areas or areas designated for the tenant’s exclusive use under an agreement with the airport operator, to carry out the security requirements imposed by the Administrator on the airport operator under the access control system requirements of section 107.14 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, or under other requirements of part 107 of title 14; and
(ii) the methods the airport operator will use to monitor and audit the tenant’s compliance with the security requirements and provides that the tenant will be required to pay monetary penalties to the airport operator if the tenant fails to carry out a security requirement under a contractual provision or requirement imposed by the airport operator.
(B) If the Administrator approves a program or amendment described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the airport operator may not be found to be in violation of a requirement of this subsection or subsection (b) of this section when the airport operator demonstrates that the tenant or an employee, permittee, or invitee of the tenant is responsible for the violation and that the airport operator has complied with all measures in its security program for securing compliance with its security program by the tenant.
(C)Maximum use of chemical and biological weapon detection equipment.—The Secretary of Transportation may require airports to maximize the use of technology and equipment that is designed to detect or neutralize potential chemical or biological weapons.
(3)Pilot programs.—The Administrator shall establish pilot programs in no fewer than 20 airports to test and evaluate new and emerging technology for providing access control and other security protections for closed or secure areas of the airports. Such technology may include biometric or other technology that ensures only authorized access to secure areas.
(d)Authorizing Individuals To Carry Firearms and Make Arrests.—With the approval of the Attorney General and the Secretary of State, the Administrator may authorize an individual who carries out air transportation security duties—
(1) to carry firearms; and
(2) to make arrests without warrant for an offense against the United States committed in the presence of the individual or for a felony under the laws of the United States, if the individual reasonably believes the individual to be arrested has committed or is committing a felony.
(e)Exclusive Responsibility Over Passenger Safety.—The Administrator has the exclusive responsibility to direct law enforcement activity related to the safety of passengers on an aircraft involved in an offense under section 46502 of this title from the moment all external doors of the aircraft are closed following boarding until those doors are opened to allow passengers to leave the aircraft. When requested by the Administrator, other departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the Government shall provide assistance necessary to carry out this subsection.
(f)Government and Industry Consortia.—The Administrator may establish at airports such consortia of government and aviation industry representatives as the Administrator may designate to provide advice on matters related to aviation security and safety. Such consortia shall not be considered Federal advisory committees for purposes of chapter 10 of title 5.
(g)Improvement of Secured-Area Access Control.—
(1)Enforcement.—
(A)Administrator to publish sanctions.—The Administrator shall publish in the Federal Register a list of sanctions for use as guidelines in the discipline of employees for infractions of airport access control requirements. The guidelines shall incorporate a progressive disciplinary approach that relates proposed sanctions to the severity or recurring nature of the infraction and shall include measures such as remedial training, suspension from security-related duties, suspension from all duties without pay, and termination of employment.
(B)Use of sanctions.—Each airport operator, air carrier, and security screening company shall include the list of sanctions published by the Administrator in its security program. The security program shall include a process for taking prompt disciplinary action against an employee who commits an infraction of airport access control requirements.
(2)Improvements.—The Administrator shall—
(A) work with airport operators and air carriers to implement and strengthen existing controls to eliminate airport access control weaknesses;
(B) require airport operators and air carriers to develop and implement comprehensive and recurring training programs that teach employees their roles in airport security, the importance of their participation, how their performance will be evaluated, and what action will be taken if they fail to perform;
(C) require airport operators and air carriers to develop and implement programs that foster and reward compliance with airport access control requirements and discourage and penalize noncompliance in accordance with guidelines issued by the Administrator to measure employee compliance;
(D) on an ongoing basis, assess and test for compliance with access control requirements, report annually findings of the assessments, and assess the effectiveness of penalties in ensuring compliance with security procedures and take any other appropriate enforcement actions when noncompliance is found;
(E) improve and better administer the Administrator’s security database to ensure its efficiency, reliability, and usefulness for identification of systemic problems and allocation of resources;
(F) improve the execution of the Administrator’s quality control program; and
(G) work with airport operators to strengthen access control points in secured areas (including air traffic control operations areas, maintenance areas, crew lounges, baggage handling areas, concessions, and catering delivery areas) to ensure the security of passengers and aircraft and consider the deployment of biometric or similar technologies that identify individuals based on unique personal characteristics.
(h)Improved Airport Perimeter Access Security.—
(1)In general.—The Administrator, in consultation with the airport operator and law enforcement authorities, may order the deployment of such personnel at any secure area of the airport as necessary to counter the risk of criminal violence, the risk of aircraft piracy at the airport, the risk to air carrier aircraft operations at the airport, or to meet national security concerns.
(2)Security of aircraft and ground access to secure areas.—In determining where to deploy such personnel, the Administrator shall consider the physical security needs of air traffic control facilities, parked aircraft, aircraft servicing equipment, aircraft supplies (including fuel), automobile parking facilities within airport perimeters or adjacent to secured facilities, and access and transition areas at airports served by other means of ground or water transportation.
(3)Deployment of federal law enforcement personnel.—The Secretary of Homeland Security may enter into a memorandum of understanding or other agreement with the Attorney General or the head of any other appropriate Federal law enforcement agency to deploy Federal law enforcement personnel at an airport in order to meet aviation safety and security concerns.
(4)Airport perimeter screening.—The Administrator—
(A) shall require screening or inspection of all individuals, goods, property, vehicles, and other equipment before entry into a secured area of an airport in the United States described in section 44903(c); 1
1 So in original. Probably should be “subsection (c)”.
(B) shall prescribe specific requirements for such screening and inspection that will assure at least the same level of protection as will result from screening of passengers and their baggage;
(C) shall establish procedures to ensure the safety and integrity of—
(i) all persons providing services with respect to aircraft providing passenger air transportation or intrastate air transportation and facilities of such persons at an airport in the United States described in subsection (c);
(ii) all supplies, including catering and passenger amenities, placed aboard such aircraft, including the sealing of supplies to ensure easy visual detection of tampering; and
(iii) all persons providing such supplies and facilities of such persons;
(D) shall require vendors having direct access to the airfield and aircraft to develop security programs; and
(E) shall issue guidance for the use of biometric or other technology that positively verifies the identity of each employee and law enforcement officer who enters a secure area of an airport.
(5)Use of biometric technology in airport access control systems.—In issuing guidance under paragraph (4)(E), the Administrator in consultation with representatives of the aviation industry, the biometric identifier industry, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, shall establish, at a minimum—
(A) comprehensive technical and operational system requirements and performance standards for the use of biometric identifier technology in airport access control systems (including airport perimeter access control systems) to ensure that the biometric identifier systems are effective, reliable, and secure;
(B) a list of products and vendors that meet the requirements and standards set forth in subparagraph (A);
(C) procedures for implementing biometric identifier systems—
(i) to ensure that individuals do not use an assumed identity to enroll in a biometric identifier system; and
(ii) to resolve failures to enroll, false matches, and false non-matches; and
(D) best practices for incorporating biometric identifier technology into airport access control systems in the most effective manner, including a process to best utilize existing airport access control systems, facilities, and equipment and existing data networks connecting airports.
(6)Use of biometric technology for armed law enforcement travel.—
(A)In general.—The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall—
(i) implement this paragraph by publication in the Federal Register; and
(ii) establish a national registered armed law enforcement program, that shall be federally managed, for law enforcement officers needing to be armed when traveling by commercial aircraft.
(B)Program requirements.—The program shall—
(i) establish a credential or a system that incorporates biometric technology and other applicable technologies;
(ii) establish a system for law enforcement officers who need to be armed when traveling by commercial aircraft on a regular basis and for those who need to be armed during temporary travel assignments;
(iii) comply with other uniform credentialing initiatives, including the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12;
(iv) apply to all Federal, State, local, tribal, and territorial government law enforcement agencies; and
(v) establish a process by which the travel credential or system may be used to verify the identity, using biometric technology, of a Federal, State, local, tribal, or territorial law enforcement officer seeking to carry a weapon on board a commercial aircraft, without unnecessarily disclosing to the public that the individual is a law enforcement officer.
(C)Procedures.—In establishing the program, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall develop procedures—
(i) to ensure that a law enforcement officer of a Federal, State, local, tribal, or territorial government flying armed has a specific reason for flying armed and the reason is within the scope of the duties of such officer;
(ii) to preserve the anonymity of the armed law enforcement officer;
(iii) to resolve failures to enroll, false matches, and false nonmatches relating to the use of the law enforcement travel credential or system;
(iv) to determine the method of issuance of the biometric credential to law enforcement officers needing to be armed when traveling by commercial aircraft;
(v) to invalidate any law enforcement travel credential or system that is lost, stolen, or no longer authorized for use;
(vi) to coordinate the program with the Federal Air Marshal Service, including the force multiplier program of the Service; and
(vii) to implement a phased approach to launching the program, addressing the immediate needs of the relevant Federal agent population before expanding to other law enforcement populations.
(7)Definitions.—In this subsection, the following definitions apply:
(A)Biometric identifier information.—The term “biometric identifier information” means the distinct physical or behavioral characteristics of an individual that are used for unique identification, or verification of the identity, of an individual.
(B)Biometric identifier.—The term “biometric identifier” means a technology that enables the automated identification, or verification of the identity, of an individual based on biometric information.
(C)Failure to enroll.—The term “failure to enroll” means the inability of an individual to enroll in a biometric identifier system due to an insufficiently distinctive biometric sample, the lack of a body part necessary to provide the biometric sample, a system design that makes it difficult to provide consistent biometric identifier information, or other factors.
(D)False match.—The term “false match” means the incorrect matching of one individual’s biometric identifier information to another individual’s biometric identifier information by a biometric identifier system.
(E)False non-match.—The term “false non-match” means the rejection of a valid identity by a biometric identifier system.
(F)Secure area of an airport.—The term “secure area of an airport” means the sterile area and the Secure Identification Display Area of an airport (as such terms are defined in section 1540.5 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation to such section).
(i)Authority to Arm Flight Deck Crew With Less-Than-Lethal Weapons.—
(1)In general.—If the Administrator, after receiving the recommendations of the National Institute of Justice, determines, with the approval of the Attorney General and the Secretary of State, that it is appropriate and necessary and would effectively serve the public interest in avoiding air piracy, the Administrator may authorize members of the flight deck crew on any aircraft providing air transportation or intrastate air transportation to carry a less-than-lethal weapon while the aircraft is engaged in providing such transportation.
(2)Usage.—If the Administrator grants authority under paragraph (1) for flight deck crew members to carry a less-than-lethal weapon while engaged in providing air transportation or intrastate air transportation, the Administrator shall—
(A) prescribe rules requiring that any such crew member be trained in the proper use of the weapon; and
(B) prescribe guidelines setting forth the circumstances under which such weapons may be used.
(3)Request of air carriers to use less-than-lethal weapons.—If the Administrator receives a request from an air carrier for authorization to allow pilots of the air carrier to carry less-than-lethal weapons, the Administrator shall respond to that request within 90 days.
(j)Short-Term Assessment and Deployment of Emerging Security Technologies and Procedures.—
(1)In general.—The Administrator shall periodically recommend to airport operators commercially available measures or procedures to prevent access to secure airport areas by unauthorized persons.
(2)Secure flight program.—
(A)In general.—The Administrator shall ensure that the Secure Flight program, or any successor program—
(i) is used to evaluate all passengers before they board an aircraft; and
(ii) includes procedures to ensure that individuals selected by the program and their carry-on and checked baggage are adequately screened.
(B)Modifications.—The Administrator may modify any requirement under the Secure Flight program for flights that originate and terminate within the same State, if the Administrator determines that—
(i) the State has extraordinary air transportation needs or concerns due to its isolation and dependence on air transportation; and
(ii) the routine characteristics of passengers, given the nature of the market, regularly triggers primary selectee status.
(C)Advanced airline passenger prescreening.—
(i)Commencement of testing.—The Administrator shall commence testing of an advanced passenger prescreening system that will allow the Department of Homeland Security to assume the performance of comparing passenger information, as defined by the Administrator, to the automatic selectee and no fly lists, utilizing all appropriate records in the consolidated and integrated terrorist watchlist maintained by the Federal Government.
(ii)Assumption of function.—The Administrator, or the designee of the Administrator, shall begin to assume the performance of the passenger prescreening function of comparing passenger information to the automatic selectee and no fly lists and utilize all appropriate records in the consolidated and integrated terrorist watchlist maintained by the Federal Government in performing that function.
(iii)Requirements.—In assuming performance of the function under clause (ii), the Administrator shall—(I) establish a procedure to enable airline passengers, who are delayed or prohibited from boarding a flight because the advanced passenger prescreening system determined that they might pose a security threat, to appeal such determination and correct information contained in the system;(II) ensure that Federal Government databases that will be used to establish the identity of a passenger under the system will not produce a large number of false positives;(III) establish an internal oversight board to oversee and monitor the manner in which the system is being implemented;(IV) establish sufficient operational safeguards to reduce the opportunities for abuse;(V) implement substantial security measures to protect the system from unauthorized access;(VI) adopt policies establishing effective oversight of the use and operation of the system; and(VII) ensure that there are no specific privacy concerns with the technological architecture of the system.
(iv)Passenger information.—After the completion of the testing of the advanced passenger prescreening system, the Administrator, by order or interim final rule—(I) shall require air carriers to supply to the Administrator the passenger information needed to begin implementing the advanced passenger prescreening system; and(II) shall require entities that provide systems and services to air carriers in the operation of air carrier reservations systems to provide to air carriers passenger information in possession of such entities, but only to the extent necessary to comply with subclause (I).
(v)Inclusion of detainees on no fly list.—The Administrator, in coordination with the Terrorist Screening Center, shall include on the No Fly List any individual who was a detainee held at the Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, unless the President certifies in writing to Congress that the detainee poses no threat to the United States, its citizens, or its allies. For purposes of this clause, the term “detainee” means an individual in the custody or under the physical control of the United States as a result of armed conflict.
(D)Screening of employees against watchlist.—The Administrator, in coordination with the Secretary of Transportation and the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, shall ensure that individuals are screened against all appropriate records in the consolidated and integrated terrorist watchlist maintained by the Federal Government before—
(i) being certificated by the Federal Aviation Administration;
(ii) being granted unescorted access to the secure area of an airport; or
(iii) being granted unescorted access to the air operations area (as defined in section 1540.5 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation to such section) of an airport.
(E)Aircraft charter customer and lessee prescreening.—
(i)In general.—The Administrator Administrator 2
2 So in original.
shall establish a process by which operators of aircraft to be used in charter air transportation with a maximum takeoff weight greater than 12,500 pounds and lessors of aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight greater than 12,500 pounds may—(I) request the Department of Homeland Security to use the advanced passenger prescreening system to compare information about any individual seeking to charter an aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight greater than 12,500 pounds, any passenger proposed to be transported aboard such aircraft, and any individual seeking to lease an aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight greater than 12,500 pounds to the automatic selectee and no fly lists, utilizing all appropriate records in the consolidated and integrated terrorist watchlist maintained by the Federal Government; and(II) refuse to charter or lease an aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight greater than 12,500 pounds to or transport aboard such aircraft any persons identified on such watch list.
(ii)Requirements.—The requirements of subparagraph (C)(iii) shall apply to this subparagraph.
(iii)No fly and automatic selectee lists.—The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Terrorist Screening Center, shall design and review, as necessary, guidelines, policies, and operating procedures for the collection, removal, and updating of data maintained, or to be maintained, in the no fly and automatic selectee lists.
(F)Applicability.—Section 607 of the Vision 100—Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act (49 U.S.C. 44903 note; 117 Stat. 2568) shall not apply to the advanced passenger prescreening system established under subparagraph (C).
(G)Appeal procedures.—
(i)In general.—The Administrator shall establish a timely and fair process for individuals identified as a threat under one or more of subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E) to appeal to the Transportation Security Administration the determination and correct any erroneous information.
(ii)Records.—The process shall include the establishment of a method by which the Administrator will be able to maintain a record of air passengers and other individuals who have been misidentified and have corrected erroneous information. To prevent repeated delays of misidentified passengers and other individuals, the Transportation Security Administration record shall contain information determined by the Administrator to authenticate the identity of such a passenger or individual.
(H)Definition.—In this paragraph, the term “secure area of an airport” means the sterile area and the Secure Identification Display Area of an airport (as such terms are defined in section 1540.5 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation to such section).
(k)Limitation on Liability for Acts To Thwart Criminal Violence or Aircraft Piracy.—An individual shall not be liable for damages in any action brought in a Federal or State court arising out of the acts of the individual in attempting to thwart an act of criminal violence or piracy on an aircraft if that individual reasonably believed that such an act of criminal violence or piracy was occurring or was about to occur.
(l)Air Charter Program.—
(1)In general.—The Administrator shall implement an aviation security program for charter air carriers (as defined in section 40102(a)) with a maximum certificated takeoff weight of more than 12,500 pounds.
(2)Exemption for armed forces charters.—
(A)In general.—Paragraph (1) and the other requirements of this chapter do not apply to passengers and property carried by aircraft when employed to provide charter transportation to members of the armed forces.
(B)Security procedures.—The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Transportation, shall establish security procedures relating to the operation of aircraft when employed to provide charter transportation to members of the armed forces to or from an airport described in section 44903(c).
(C)Armed forces defined.—In this paragraph, the term “armed forces” has the meaning given that term by section 101(a)(4) of title 10.
(m)Security Screening for Members of the Armed Forces.—
(1)In general.—The Administrator, in consultation with the Department of Defense, shall develop and implement a plan to provide expedited security screening services for a member of the armed forces, and, to the extent possible, any accompanying family member, if the member of the armed forces, while in uniform, presents documentation indicating official orders for air transportation departing from a primary airport (as defined in section 47102).
(2)Protocols.—In developing the plan, the Administrator shall consider—
(A) leveraging existing security screening models used to reduce passenger wait times;
(B) establishing standard guidelines for the screening of military uniform items, including combat boots; and
(C) incorporating any new screening protocols into an existing trusted passenger program, as established pursuant to section 109(a)(3) of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (49 U.S.C. 114 note), or into the development of any new credential or system that incorporates biometric technology and other applicable technologies to verify the identity of individuals traveling in air transportation.
(3)Rule of construction.—Nothing in this subsection shall affect the authority of the Administrator to require additional screening of a member of the armed forces if intelligence or law enforcement information indicates that additional screening is necessary.
(4)Report to congress.—The Administrator shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the implementation of the plan.
(n)Passenger Exit Points From Sterile Area.—
(1)In general.—The Secretary of Homeland Security shall ensure that the Transportation Security Administration is responsible for monitoring passenger exit points from the sterile area of airports at which the Transportation Security Administration provided such monitoring as of December 1, 2013.
(2)Sterile area defined.—In this section, the term “sterile area” has the meaning given that term in section 1540.5 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or any corresponding similar regulation or ruling).
(Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1205; Pub. L. 106–181, title VII, § 717, Apr. 5, 2000, 114 Stat. 163; Pub. L. 106–528, §§ 4, 6, Nov. 22, 2000, 114 Stat. 2520, 2521; Pub. L. 107–71, title I, §§ 101(f)(7)–(9), 106(a), (c), (d), 120, 126(b), 136, 144, Nov. 19, 2001, 115 Stat. 603, 608–610, 629, 632, 636, 644; Pub. L. 107–296, title XIV, §§ 1405, 1406, Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2307; Pub. L. 108–176, title VI, § 606(a), Dec. 12, 2003, 117 Stat. 2568; Pub. L. 108–458, title IV, §§ 4011(a), 4012(a)(1), Dec. 17, 2004, 118 Stat. 3712, 3714; Pub. L. 110–53, title XVI, § 1615(a), Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 486; Pub. L. 111–83, title V, § 553, Oct. 28, 2009, 123 Stat. 2179; Pub. L. 112–86, § 2(a), Jan. 3, 2012, 125 Stat. 1874; Pub. L. 113–67, div. A, title VI, § 603, Dec. 26, 2013, 127 Stat. 1188; Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, § 1991(d)(3), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3630; Pub. L. 117–286, § 4(a)(316), Dec. 27, 2022, 136 Stat. 4340.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44903

§ 44904. Domestic air transportation system security
(a)Assessing Threats.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration and the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation jointly shall assess current and potential threats to the domestic air transportation system. The assessment shall include consideration of the extent to which there are individuals with the capability and intent to carry out terrorist or related unlawful acts against that system and the ways in which those individuals might carry out those acts. The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration and the Director jointly shall decide on and carry out the most effective method for continuous analysis and monitoring of security threats to that system.
(b)Assessing Security.—In coordination with the Director, the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall carry out periodic threat and vulnerability assessments on security at each airport that is part of the domestic air transportation system. Each assessment shall include consideration of—
(1) the adequacy of security procedures related to the handling and transportation of checked baggage and cargo;
(2) space requirements for security personnel and equipment;
(3) separation of screened and unscreened passengers, baggage, and cargo;
(4) separation of the controlled and uncontrolled areas of airport facilities; and
(5) coordination of the activities of security personnel of the Transportation Security Administration, the United States Customs Service, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and air carriers, and of other law enforcement personnel.
(c)Modal Security Plan for Aviation.—In addition to the requirements set forth in subparagraphs (B) through (F) of section 114(s)(3), the modal security plan for aviation prepared under section 114(s) shall—
(1) establish a damage mitigation and recovery plan for the aviation system in the event of a terrorist attack; and
(2) include a threat matrix document that outlines each threat to the United States civil aviation system and the corresponding layers of security in place to address such threat.
(d)Operational Criteria.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall issue operational criteria to protect airport infrastructure and operations against the threats identified in the plans prepared under section 114(s)(1) and shall approve best practices guidelines for airport assets.
(e)Improving Security.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall take necessary actions to improve domestic air transportation security by correcting any deficiencies in that security discovered in the assessments, analyses, and monitoring carried out under this section.
(Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1207; Pub. L. 107–71, title I, § 101(f)(1), (7), (9), Nov. 19, 2001, 115 Stat. 603; Pub. L. 108–458, title IV, § 4001(b), Dec. 17, 2004, 118 Stat. 3712; Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, § 1991(d)(4), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3632.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44904

§ 44905. Information about threats to civil aviation
(a)Providing Information.—Under guidelines the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration prescribes, an air carrier, airport operator, ticket agent, or individual employed by an air carrier, airport operator, or ticket agent, receiving information (except a communication directed by the United States Government) about a threat to civil aviation shall provide the information promptly to the Administrator.
(b)Flight Cancellation.—If a decision is made that a particular threat cannot be addressed in a way adequate to ensure, to the extent feasible, the safety of passengers and crew of a particular flight or series of flights, the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall cancel the flight or series of flights.
(c)Guidelines on Public Notice.—
(1) The President shall develop guidelines for ensuring that public notice is provided in appropriate cases about threats to civil aviation. The guidelines shall identify officials responsible for—
(A) deciding, on a case-by-case basis, if public notice of a threat is in the best interest of the United States and the traveling public;
(B) ensuring that public notice is provided in a timely and effective way, including the use of a toll-free telephone number; and
(C) canceling the departure of a flight or series of flights under subsection (b) of this section.
(2) The guidelines shall provide for consideration of—
(A) the specificity of the threat;
(B) the credibility of intelligence information related to the threat;
(C) the ability to counter the threat effectively;
(D) the protection of intelligence information sources and methods;
(E) cancellation, by an air carrier or the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, of a flight or series of flights instead of public notice;
(F) the ability of passengers and crew to take steps to reduce the risk to their safety after receiving public notice of a threat; and
(G) other factors the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration considers appropriate.
(d)Guidelines on Notice to Crews.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall develop guidelines for ensuring that notice in appropriate cases of threats to the security of an air carrier flight is provided to the flight crew and cabin crew of that flight.
(e)Limitation on Notice to Selective Travelers.—Notice of a threat to civil aviation may be provided to selective potential travelers only if the threat applies only to those travelers.
(f)Restricting Access to Information.—In cooperation with the departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the Government that collect, receive, and analyze intelligence information related to aviation security, the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall develop procedures to minimize the number of individuals who have access to information about threats. However, a restriction on access to that information may be imposed only if the restriction does not diminish the ability of the Government to carry out its duties and powers related to aviation security effectively, including providing notice to the public and flight and cabin crews under this section.
(g)Distribution of Guidelines.—The guidelines developed under this section shall be distributed for use by appropriate officials of the Department of Transportation, the Department of State, the Department of Justice, and air carriers.
(Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1207; Pub. L. 107–71, title I, § 101(f)(7), (9), Nov. 19, 2001, 115 Stat. 603; Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, § 1991(d)(5), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3632.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44905

§ 44906. Foreign air carrier security programs

The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall continue in effect the requirement of section 129.25 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, that a foreign air carrier must adopt and use a security program approved by the Administrator. The Administrator shall not approve a security program of a foreign air carrier under section 129.25, or any successor regulation, unless the security program requires the foreign air carrier in its operations to and from airports in the United States to adhere to the identical security measures that the Administrator requires air carriers serving the same airports to adhere to. The foregoing requirement shall not be interpreted to limit the ability of the Administrator to impose additional security measures on a foreign air carrier or an air carrier when the Administrator determines that a specific threat warrants such additional measures. The Administrator shall prescribe regulations to carry out this section.

(Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1208; Pub. L. 104–132, title III, § 322, Apr. 24, 1996, 110 Stat. 1254; Pub. L. 107–71, title I, § 101(f)(7), (9), Nov. 19, 2001, 115 Stat. 603; Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, § 1991(d)(6), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3632.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44906

§ 44907. Security standards at foreign airports
(a)Assessment.—
(1) At intervals the Secretary of Transportation considers necessary, the Secretary shall assess the effectiveness of the security measures maintained at—
(A) a foreign airport—
(i) served by an air carrier;
(ii) from which a foreign air carrier serves the United States; or
(iii) that poses a high risk of introducing danger to international air travel; and
(B) other foreign airports the Secretary considers appropriate.
(2) The Secretary of Transportation shall conduct an assessment under paragraph (1) of this subsection—
(A) in consultation with appropriate aeronautic authorities of the government of a foreign country concerned and each air carrier serving the foreign airport for which the Secretary is conducting the assessment;
(B) to establish the extent to which a foreign airport effectively maintains and carries out security measures, including the screening and vetting of airport workers; and
(C) by using a standard that will result in an analysis of the security measures at the airport based at least on the standards and appropriate recommended practices contained in Annex 17 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation in effect on the date of the assessment.
(3) Each report to Congress required under section 44938(b) of this title shall contain a summary of the assessments conducted under this subsection.
(b)Consultation.—In carrying out subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary of Transportation shall consult with the Secretary of State—
(1) on the terrorist threat that exists in each country; and
(2) to establish which foreign airports are not under the de facto control of the government of the foreign country in which they are located and pose a high risk of introducing danger to international air travel.
(c)Notifying Foreign Authorities.—When the Secretary of Transportation, after conducting an assessment under subsection (a) of this section, decides that an airport does not maintain and carry out effective security measures, the Secretary of Transportation, after advising the Secretary of State, shall notify the appropriate authorities of the government of the foreign country of the decision and recommend the steps necessary to bring the security measures in use at the airport up to the standard used by the Secretary of Transportation in making the assessment.
(d)Actions When Airports Not Maintaining and Carrying Out Effective Security Measures.—
(1) When the Secretary of Transportation decides under this section that an airport does not maintain and carry out effective security measures—
(A) the Secretary of Transportation shall—
(i) publish the identity of the airport in the Federal Register;
(ii) have the identity of the airport posted and displayed prominently at all United States airports at which scheduled air carrier operations are provided regularly; and
(iii) notify the news media of the identity of the airport;
(B) each air carrier and foreign air carrier providing transportation between the United States and the airport shall provide written notice of the decision, on or with the ticket, to each passenger buying a ticket for transportation between the United States and the airport;
(C) notwithstanding section 40105(b) of this title, the Secretary of Transportation, after consulting with the appropriate aeronautic authorities of the foreign country concerned and each air carrier serving the airport and with the approval of the Secretary of State, may withhold, revoke, or prescribe conditions on the operating authority of an air carrier or foreign air carrier that uses that airport to provide foreign air transportation; and
(D) the President may prohibit an air carrier or foreign air carrier from providing transportation between the United States and any other foreign airport that is served by aircraft flying to or from the airport with respect to which a decision is made under this section.
(2)
(A) Paragraph (1) of this subsection becomes effective—
(i) 90 days after the government of a foreign country is notified under subsection (c) of this section if the Secretary of Transportation finds that the government has not brought the security measures at the airport up to the standard the Secretary used in making an assessment under subsection (a) of this section; or
(ii) immediately on the decision of the Secretary of Transportation under subsection (c) of this section if the Secretary of Transportation decides, after consulting with the Secretary of State, that a condition exists that threatens the safety or security of passengers, aircraft, or crew traveling to or from the airport.
(B) The Secretary of Transportation immediately shall notify the Secretary of State of a decision under subparagraph (A)(ii) of this paragraph so that the Secretary of State may issue a travel advisory required under section 44908(a) of this title.
(3) The Secretary of Transportation promptly shall submit to Congress a report (and classified annex if necessary) on action taken under paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection, including information on attempts made to obtain the cooperation of the government of a foreign country in meeting the standard the Secretary used in assessing the airport under subsection (a) of this section.
(4) An action required under paragraph (1)(A) and (B) of this subsection is no longer required only if the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the Secretary of State, decides that effective security measures are maintained and carried out at the airport. The Secretary of Transportation shall notify Congress when the action is no longer required to be taken.
(e)Suspensions.—Notwithstanding sections 40105(b) and 40106(b) of this title, the Secretary of Transportation, with the approval of the Secretary of State and without notice or a hearing, shall suspend the right of an air carrier or foreign air carrier to provide foreign air transportation, and the right of a person to operate aircraft in foreign air commerce, to or from a foreign airport when the Secretary of Transportation decides that—
(1) a condition exists that threatens the safety or security of passengers, aircraft, or crew traveling to or from that airport; and
(2) the public interest requires an immediate suspension of transportation between the United States and that airport.
(f)Condition of Carrier Authority.—This section is a condition to authority the Secretary of Transportation grants under this part to an air carrier or foreign air carrier.
(Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1209; Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, § 1954, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3595.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44907

§ 44908. Travel advisory and suspension of foreign assistance
(a)Travel Advisories.—On being notified by the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration that the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration has decided under section 44907(d)(2)(A)(ii) of this title that a condition exists that threatens the security of passengers, aircraft, or crew traveling to or from a foreign airport that the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration has decided under section 44907 of this title does not maintain and carry out effective security measures, the Secretary of State—
(1) immediately shall issue a travel advisory for that airport; and
(2) shall publicize the advisory widely.
(b)Suspending Assistance.—The President shall suspend assistance provided under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) or the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) to a country in which is located an airport with respect to which section 44907(d)(1) of this title becomes effective if the Secretary of State decides the country is a high terrorist threat country. The President may waive this subsection if the President decides, and reports to Congress, that the waiver is required because of national security interests or a humanitarian emergency.
(c)Actions No Longer Required.—An action required under this section is no longer required only if the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration has made a decision as provided under section 44907(d)(4) of this title. The Administrator shall notify Congress when the action is no longer required to be taken.
(Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1211; Pub. L. 105–277, div. G, subdiv. B, title XXII, § 2224(a), Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–819; Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, § 1991(d)(7), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3632.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44908

§ 44909. Passenger manifests
(a)Air Carrier Requirements.—
(1) The Secretary of Transportation shall require each air carrier to provide a passenger manifest for a flight to an appropriate representative of the Secretary of State—
(A) not later than one hour after that carrier is notified of an aviation disaster outside the United States involving that flight; or
(B) if it is not technologically feasible or reasonable to comply with clause (A) of this paragraph, then as expeditiously as possible, but not later than 3 hours after the carrier is so notified.
(2) The passenger manifest should include the following information:
(A) the full name of each passenger.
(B) the passport number of each passenger, if required for travel.
(C) the name and telephone number of a contact for each passenger.
(3) In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary of Transportation shall consider the necessity and feasibility of requiring air carriers to collect passenger manifest information as a condition for passengers boarding a flight of the carrier.
(b)Foreign Air Carrier Requirements.—The Secretary of Transportation shall consider imposing a requirement on foreign air carriers comparable to that imposed on air carriers under subsection (a)(1) and (2) of this section.
(c)Flights in Foreign Air Transportation to the United States.—
(1)In general.—Each air carrier and foreign air carrier operating a passenger flight in foreign air transportation to the United States shall provide to the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection by electronic transmission a passenger and crew manifest containing the information specified in paragraph (2). Carriers may use the advanced passenger information system established under section 431 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1431) to provide the information required by the preceding sentence.
(2)Information.—A passenger and crew manifest for a flight required under paragraph (1) shall contain the following information:
(A) The full name of each passenger and crew member.
(B) The date of birth and citizenship of each passenger and crew member.
(C) The sex of each passenger and crew member.
(D) The passport number and country of issuance of each passenger and crew member if required for travel.
(E) The United States visa number or resident alien card number of each passenger and crew member, as applicable.
(F) Such other information as the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, in consultation with the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, determines is reasonably necessary to ensure aviation safety.
(3)Passenger name records.—The carriers shall make passenger name record information available to the Customs Service upon request.
(4)Transmission of manifest.—Subject to paragraphs (5) and (6), a passenger and crew manifest required for a flight under paragraph (1) shall be transmitted to the Customs Service in advance of the aircraft landing in the United States in such manner, time, and form as the Customs Service prescribes.
(5)Transmission of manifests to other federal agencies.—Upon request, information provided to the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration or the Customs Service under this subsection may be shared with other Federal agencies for the purpose of protecting national security.
(6)Prescreening international passengers.—
(A)In general.—The Secretary of Homeland Security, or the designee of the Secretary, shall issue a notice of proposed rulemaking that will allow the Department of Homeland Security to compare passenger information for any international flight to or from the United States against the consolidated and integrated terrorist watchlist maintained by the Federal Government before departure of the flight.
(B)Appeal procedures.—
(i)In general.—The Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish a timely and fair process for individuals identified as a threat under subparagraph (A) to appeal to the Department of Homeland Security the determination and correct any erroneous information.
(ii)Records.—The process shall include the establishment of a method by which the Secretary of Homeland Security will be able to maintain a record of air passengers and other individuals who have been misidentified and have corrected erroneous information. To prevent repeated delays of misidentified passengers and other individuals, the Department of Homeland Security record shall contain information determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security to authenticate the identity of such a passenger or individual.
(Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1211; Pub. L. 106–181, title VII, § 718, Apr. 5, 2000, 114 Stat. 163; Pub. L. 107–71, title I, § 115, Nov. 19, 2001, 115 Stat. 623; Pub. L. 108–458, title IV, § 4012(a)(2), Dec. 17, 2004, 118 Stat. 3717; Pub. L. 114–125, title VIII, § 802(d)(2), Feb. 24, 2016, 130 Stat. 210; Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, § 1991(d)(8), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3633.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44909

§ 44910. Agreements on aircraft sabotage, aircraft hijacking, and airport security

The Secretary of State shall seek multilateral and bilateral agreement on strengthening enforcement measures and standards for compliance related to aircraft sabotage, aircraft hijacking, and airport security.

(Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1212.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44910

§ 44911. Intelligence
(a)Definition.—In this section, “intelligence community” means the intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the following units of the United States Government:
(1) the Department of State.
(2) the Department of Defense.
(3) the Department of the Treasury.
(4) the Department of Energy.
(5) the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
(6) the Central Intelligence Agency.
(7) the National Security Agency.
(8) the Defense Intelligence Agency.
(9) the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(10) the Drug Enforcement Administration.
(b)Policies and Procedures on Report Availability.—The head of each unit in the intelligence community shall prescribe policies and procedures to ensure that intelligence reports about terrorism are made available, as appropriate, to the heads of other units in the intelligence community, the Secretary of Transportation, and the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration.
(c)Unit for Strategic Planning on Terrorism.—The heads of the units in the intelligence community shall place greater emphasis on strategic intelligence efforts by establishing a unit for strategic planning on terrorism.
(d)Designation of Intelligence Officer.—At the request of the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of Central Intelligence shall designate at least one intelligence officer of the Central Intelligence Agency to serve in a senior position in the Office of the Secretary.
(e)Written Working Agreements.—The heads of units in the intelligence community, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall review and, as appropriate, revise written working agreements between the intelligence community and the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration.
(Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1212; Pub. L. 107–71, title I, §§ 101(f)(7), (9), 102(b), (c), Nov. 19, 2001, 115 Stat. 603, 605; Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, § 1991(d)(9), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3633.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44911

§ 44912. Research and development
(a)Program Requirement.—
(1) The Administrator shall establish and carry out a program to accelerate and expand the research, development, and implementation of technologies and procedures to counteract terrorist acts against civil aviation. The program shall provide for developing and having in place new equipment and procedures necessary to meet the technological challenges presented by terrorism. The program shall include research on, and development of, technological improvements and ways to enhance human performance.
(2) In designing and carrying out the program established under this subsection, the Administrator shall—
(A) consult and coordinate activities with other departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the United States Government doing similar research;
(B) identify departments, agencies, and instrumentalities that would benefit from that research; and
(C) seek cost-sharing agreements with those departments, agencies, and instrumentalities.
(3) In carrying out the program established under this subsection, the Administrator shall review and consider the annual reports the Secretary of Transportation submits to Congress on transportation security and intelligence.
(4)
(A) In carrying out the program established under this subsection, the Administrator shall designate an individual to be responsible for engineering, research, and development with respect to security technology under the program.
(B) The individual designated under subparagraph (A) shall use appropriate systems engineering and risk management models in making decisions regarding the allocation of funds for engineering, research, and development with respect to security technology under the program.
(C) The individual designated under subparagraph (A) shall, on an annual basis, submit to the Administrator a report on activities under this paragraph during the preceding year. Each report shall include, for the year covered by such report, information on—
(i) progress made in engineering, research, and development with respect to security technology;
(ii) the allocation of funds for engineering, research, and development with respect to security technology; and
(iii) engineering, research, and development with respect to any technologies drawn from other agencies, including the rationale for engineering, research, and development with respect to such technologies.
(5) The Administrator may—
(A) make grants to institutions of higher learning and other appropriate research facilities with demonstrated ability to carry out research described in paragraph (1) of this subsection, and fix the amounts and terms of the grants; and
(B) make cooperative agreements with governmental authorities the Administrator decides are appropriate.
(b)Review of Threats.—
(1) The Administrator shall periodically review threats to civil aviation, with particular focus on—
(A) a comprehensive systems analysis (employing vulnerability analysis, threat attribute definition, and technology roadmaps) of the civil aviation system, including—
(i) the destruction, commandeering, or diversion of civil aircraft or the use of civil aircraft as a weapon; and
(ii) the disruption of civil aviation service, including by cyber attack;
(B) explosive material that presents the most significant threat to civil aircraft;
(C) the minimum amounts, configurations, and types of explosive material that can cause, or would reasonably be expected to cause, catastrophic damage to aircraft in air transportation;
(D) the amounts, configurations, and types of explosive material that can be detected reliably by existing, or reasonably anticipated, near-term explosive detection technologies;
(E) the potential release of chemical, biological, or similar weapons or devices either within an aircraft or within an airport;
(F) the feasibility of using various ways to minimize damage caused by explosive material that cannot be detected reliably by existing, or reasonably anticipated, near-term explosive detection technologies;
(G) the ability to screen passengers, carry-on baggage, checked baggage, and cargo; and
(H) the technologies that might be used in the future to attempt to destroy or otherwise threaten commercial aircraft and the way in which those technologies can be countered effectively.
(2) The Administrator shall use the results of the review under this subsection to develop the focus and priorities of the program established under subsection (a) of this section.
(c)Scientific Advisory Panel.—
(1) The Administrator shall establish a scientific advisory panel to review, comment on, advise the progress of, and recommend modifications in, the program established under subsection (a) of this section, including the need for long-range research programs to detect and prevent catastrophic damage to commercial aircraft, commercial aviation facilities, commercial aviation personnel and passengers, and other components of the commercial aviation system by the next generation of terrorist weapons.
(2)
(A) The advisory panel shall consist of individuals who have scientific and technical expertise in—
(i) the development and testing of effective explosive detection systems;
(ii) aircraft structure and experimentation to decide on the type and minimum weights of explosives that an effective explosive detection technology must be capable of detecting;
(iii) technologies involved in minimizing airframe damage to aircraft from explosives; and
(iv) other scientific and technical areas the Administrator considers appropriate.
(B) In appointing individuals to the advisory panel, the Administrator should consider individuals from academia and the national laboratories, as appropriate.
(3) The Administrator shall organize the advisory panel into teams capable of undertaking the review of policies and technologies upon request.
(4) Biennially, the Administrator shall review the composition of the advisory panel in order to ensure that the expertise of the individuals on the panel is suited to the current and anticipated duties of the panel.
(d)Security and Research and Development Activities.—
(1)In general.—The Administrator shall conduct research (including behavioral research) and development activities appropriate to develop, modify, test, and evaluate a system, procedure, facility, or device to protect passengers and property against acts of criminal violence, aircraft piracy, and terrorism and to ensure security.
(2)Disclosure.—
(A)In general.—Notwithstanding section 552 of title 5, the Administrator shall prescribe regulations prohibiting disclosure of information obtained or developed in ensuring security under this title if the Secretary of Homeland Security decides disclosing the information would—
(i) be an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;
(ii) reveal a trade secret or privileged or confidential commercial or financial information; or
(iii) be detrimental to transportation safety.
(B)Information to congress.—Subparagraph (A) does not authorize information to be withheld from a committee of Congress authorized to have the information.
(C)Rule of construction.—Nothing in subparagraph (A) shall be construed to authorize the designation of information as sensitive security information (as defined in section 15.5 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations)—
(i) to conceal a violation of law, inefficiency, or administrative error;
(ii) to prevent embarrassment to a person, organization, or agency;
(iii) to restrain competition; or
(iv) to prevent or delay the release of information that does not require protection in the interest of transportation security, including basic scientific research information not clearly related to transportation security.
(D)Privacy act.—
(3)Transfers of duties and powers prohibited.—Except as otherwise provided by law, the Administrator may not transfer a duty or power under this section to another department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government.
(e)Definition of Administrator.—In this section, the term “Administrator” means the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration.
(Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1212; Pub. L. 107–71, title I, §§ 101(f)(7), (9), 112, Nov. 19, 2001, 115 Stat. 603, 620; Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, § 1991(d)(10), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3633.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44912

§ 44913. Explosive detection
(a)Deployment and Purchase of Equipment.—
(1) A deployment or purchase of explosive detection equipment under section 108.7(b)(8) or 108.20 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, or similar regulation is required only if the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (referred to in this section as “the Administrator”) certifies that the equipment alone, or as part of an integrated system, can detect under realistic air carrier operating conditions the amounts, configurations, and types of explosive material that would likely be used to cause catastrophic damage to commercial aircraft. The Administrator shall base the certification on the results of tests conducted under protocols developed in consultation with expert scientists outside of the Transportation Security Administration. Those tests shall be completed not later than April 16, 1992.
(2) Until such time as the Administrator determines that equipment certified under paragraph (1) is commercially available and has successfully completed operational testing as provided in paragraph (1), the Administrator shall facilitate the deployment of such approved commercially available explosive detection devices as the Administrator determines will enhance aviation security significantly. The Administrator shall require that equipment deployed under this paragraph be replaced by equipment certified under paragraph (1) when equipment certified under paragraph (1) becomes commercially available. The Administrator is authorized, based on operational considerations at individual airports, to waive the required installation of commercially available equipment under paragraph (1) in the interests of aviation security. The Administrator may permit the requirements of this paragraph to be met at airports by the deployment of dogs or other appropriate animals to supplement equipment for screening passengers, baggage, mail, or cargo for explosives or weapons.
(3) This subsection does not prohibit the Administrator from purchasing or deploying explosive detection equipment described in paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(b)Grants.—The Administrator may provide grants to continue the Explosive Detection K-9 Team Training Program to detect explosives at airports and on aircraft.
(Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1214; Pub. L. 104–264, title III, § 305(a), Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3252; Pub. L. 104–287, § 5(9), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3389; Pub. L. 107–71, title I, § 101(f)(2), (7), (9), Nov. 19, 2001, 115 Stat. 603; Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, § 1991(d)(11), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3635.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44913

§ 44914. Airport construction guidelines

In consultation with the Department of Transportation, air carriers, airport authorities, and others the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration considers appropriate, the Administrator shall develop guidelines for airport design and construction to allow for maximum security enhancement. In developing the guidelines, the Administrator shall consider the results of the assessment carried out under section 44904(a) of this title.

(Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1214; Pub. L. 107–71, title I, § 101(f)(7), (9), Nov. 19, 2001, 115 Stat. 603; Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, § 1991(d)(12), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3635.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44914

§ 44915. Exemptions
The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration may exempt from sections 44901, 44903(a)–(c) and (e), 44906, 44935, and 44936 of this title airports in Alaska served only by air carriers that—
(1) hold certificates issued under section 41102 of this title;
(2) operate aircraft with certificates for a maximum gross takeoff weight of less than 12,500 pounds; and
(3) board passengers, or load property intended to be carried in an aircraft cabin, that will be screened under section 44901 of this title at another airport in Alaska before the passengers board, or the property is loaded on, an aircraft for a place outside Alaska.
(Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1215; Pub. L. 107–71, title I, § 101(f)(7), (9), Nov. 19, 2001, 115 Stat. 603; Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, § 1991(d)(13), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3635.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44915

§ 44916. Assessments and evaluations
(a)Periodic Assessments.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall require each air carrier and airport (including the airport owner or operator in cooperation with the air carriers and vendors serving each airport) that provides for intrastate, interstate, or foreign air transportation to conduct periodic vulnerability assessments of the security systems of that air carrier or airport, respectively. The Transportation Security Administration shall perform periodic audits of such assessments.
(b)Investigations.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall conduct periodic and unannounced inspections of security systems of airports and air carriers to determine the effectiveness and vulnerabilities of such systems. To the extent allowable by law, the Administrator may provide for anonymous tests of those security systems.
(Added Pub. L. 104–264, title III, § 312(a), Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3253; amended Pub. L. 107–71, title I, § 101(f)(3), (7), Nov. 19, 2001, 115 Stat. 603; Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, § 1991(d)(14), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3635.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44916

§ 44917. Deployment of Federal air marshals
(a)In General.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration under the authority provided by section 44903(d)—
(1) may provide for deployment of Federal air marshals on every passenger flight of air carriers in air transportation or intrastate air transportation;
(2) shall provide for deployment of Federal air marshals on every such flight determined by the Administrator to present high security risks;
(3) shall provide for appropriate training, supervision, and equipment of Federal air marshals;
(4) shall require air carriers providing flights described in paragraph (1) to provide seating for a Federal air marshal on any such flight without regard to the availability of seats on the flight and at no cost to the United States Government or the marshal;
(5) may require air carriers to provide, on a space-available basis, to an off-duty Federal air marshal a seat on a flight to the airport nearest the marshal’s home at no cost to the marshal or the United States Government if the marshal is traveling to that airport after completing his or her security duties;
(6) may enter into agreements with Federal, State, and local agencies under which appropriately-trained law enforcement personnel from such agencies, when traveling on a flight of an air carrier, will carry a firearm and be prepared to assist Federal air marshals;
(7) shall establish procedures to ensure that Federal air marshals are made aware of any armed or unarmed law enforcement personnel on board an aircraft;
(8) may appoint—
(A) an individual who is a retired law enforcement officer;
(B) an individual who is a retired member of the Armed Forces; and
(C) an individual who has been furloughed from an air carrier crew position in the 1-year period beginning on September 11, 2001,
as a Federal air marshal, regardless of age, if the individual otherwise meets the background and fitness qualifications required for Federal air marshals;
(9) shall require the Federal Air Marshal Service to utilize a risk-based strategy when allocating resources between international and domestic flight coverage, including when initially setting its annual target numbers of average daily international and domestic flights to cover;
(10) shall require the Federal Air Marshal Service to utilize a risk-based strategy to support domestic allocation decisions;
(11) shall require the Federal Air Marshal Service to utilize a risk-based strategy to support international allocation decisions; and
(12) shall ensure that the seating arrangements of Federal air marshals on aircraft are determined in a manner that is risk-based and most capable of responding to current threats to aviation security.
(b)Interim Measures.—Until the Under Secretary 1
1 So in original. Probably should be “Administrator”.
completes implementation of subsection (a), the Under Secretary 1 may use, after consultation with and concurrence of the heads of other Federal agencies and departments, personnel from those agencies and departments, on a nonreimbursable basis, to provide air marshal service.
(c)Training for Foreign Law Enforcement Personnel.—
(1)In general.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, after consultation with the Secretary of State, may direct the Federal Air Marshal Service to provide appropriate air marshal training to law enforcement personnel of foreign countries.
(2)Watchlist screening.—The Federal Air Marshal Service may only provide appropriate air marshal training to law enforcement personnel of foreign countries after comparing the identifying information and records of law enforcement personnel of foreign countries against all appropriate records in the consolidated and integrated terrorist watchlists maintained by the Federal Government.
(3)Fees.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall establish reasonable fees and charges to pay expenses incurred in carrying out this subsection. Funds collected under this subsection shall be credited to the account in the Treasury from which the expenses were incurred and shall be available to the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration for purposes for which amounts in such account are available.
(Added Pub. L. 107–71, title I, § 105(a), Nov. 19, 2001, 115 Stat. 606; amended Pub. L. 108–458, title IV, § 4018, Dec. 17, 2004, 118 Stat. 3721; Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, §§ 1959(c)(5), (d)(1), 1991(d)(15), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3599, 3635.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44917

§ 44918. Crew training
(a)Basic Security Training.—
(1)In general.—Each air carrier providing scheduled passenger air transportation shall carry out a training program for flight and cabin crew members to prepare the crew members for potential threat conditions and unruly passenger behavior.
(2)Program elements.—An air carrier training program under this subsection shall include, at a minimum, elements that address each of the following:
(A) Recognize suspicious behavior and activities and determine the seriousness of any occurrence of such behavior and activities.
(B) Crew communication and coordination.
(C) The proper commands to give passengers and attackers.
(D) Appropriate responses to defend oneself.
(E) Use of protective devices assigned to crew members (to the extent such devices are required by the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration or the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration).
(F) Psychology of terrorists to cope with hijacker behavior and passenger responses.
(G) Situational training exercises regarding various threat conditions.
(H) De-escalation training based on recommendations issued by the Air Carrier Training Aviation Rulemaking Committee.
(I) Methods to subdue and restrain an active attacker.
(J) The proper conduct of a cabin search, including explosive device recognition.
(K) Any other subject matter considered appropriate by the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration.
(3)Approval.—An air carrier training program under this subsection shall be subject to approval by the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration.
(4)Minimum standards.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, in consultation with the Federal Air Marshal Service and the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, shall establish minimum standards for—
(A) the training provided under this subsection and any for recurrent training; and
(B) the individuals or entities providing such training.
(5)Existing programs.—Notwithstanding paragraphs (3) and (4), any training program of an air carrier to prepare flight and cabin crew members for potential threat conditions that was approved by the Administrator or the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration before December 12, 2003, may continue in effect until disapproved or ordered modified by the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration.
(6)Monitoring.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, in consultation with the Administrator and the Federal Air Marshal Service, shall monitor air carrier training programs under this subsection and shall periodically review an air carrier’s training program to ensure that the program is adequately preparing crew members for potential threat conditions based on changes in the potential or actual threat conditions. In determining when an air carrier’s training program should be reviewed under this paragraph, the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall consider complaints from crew members. The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall ensure that employees responsible for monitoring the training programs have the necessary resources and knowledge, including self-defense training expertise and experience.
(7)Updates.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, in consultation with the Administrator, shall order air carriers to modify training programs under this subsection to reflect new or different security threats.
(b)Advanced Self-Defense Training.—
(1)In general.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall develop and provide a voluntary training program for flight and cabin crew members of air carriers providing scheduled passenger air transportation.
(2)Program elements.—The training program under this subsection shall include both classroom and effective hands-on training in the following elements of self-defense:
(A) Deterring a passenger who might present a threat.
(B) Advanced control, striking, and restraint techniques.
(C) Training to defend oneself against edged or contact weapons.
(D) Methods to subdue and restrain an attacker.
(E) Use of available items aboard the aircraft for self-defense.
(F) Appropriate and effective responses to defend oneself, including the use of force against an attacker.
(G) Any other element of training that the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration considers appropriate.
(3)Participation not required.—A crew member shall not be required to participate in the training program under this subsection.
(4)Compensation.—Except as provided in paragraph (8), neither the Federal Government nor an air carrier shall be required to compensate a crew member for participating in the training program under this subsection.
(5)Fees.—A crew member shall not be required to pay a fee for the training program under this subsection.
(6)Consultation.—In developing the training program under this subsection, the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall consult with law enforcement personnel and security experts who have expertise in self-defense training, terrorism experts, representatives of air carriers, the director of self-defense training in the Federal Air Marshal Service, flight attendants, labor organizations representing flight attendants, and educational institutions offering law enforcement training programs.
(7)Designation of tsa official.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall designate an official in the Transportation Security Administration to be responsible for implementing the training program under this subsection. The official shall consult with air carriers and labor organizations representing crew members before implementing the program to ensure that it is appropriate for situations that may arise on board an aircraft during a flight.
(8)Air carrier accommodation.—An air carrier with a crew member participating in the training program under this subsection shall provide a process through which each such crew member may obtain reasonable accommodations.
(c)Limitation.—Actions by crew members under this section shall be subject to the provisions of section 44903(k).
(Added Pub. L. 107–71, title I, § 107(a), Nov. 19, 2001, 115 Stat. 610; amended Pub. L. 107–296, title XIV, § 1403(a), Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2305; Pub. L. 108–176, title VI, § 603, Dec. 12, 2003, 117 Stat. 2563; Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, § 1991(d)(16), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3635; Pub. L. 118–63, title IV, § 427, May 16, 2024, 138 Stat. 1169.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44918

§ 44919. PreCheck Program
(a)In General.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall continue to administer the PreCheck Program in accordance with section 109(a)(3) of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (49 U.S.C. 114 note).
(b)Expansion.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the TSA Modernization Act, the Administrator shall enter into an agreement, using other transaction authority under section 114(m) of this title, with at least 2 private sector entities to increase the methods and capabilities available for the public to enroll in the PreCheck Program.
(c)Minimum Capability Requirements.—At least 1 agreement under subsection (b) shall include the following capabilities:
(1) Start-to-finish secure online or mobile enrollment capability.
(2) Vetting of an applicant by means other than biometrics, such as a risk assessment, if—
(A) such means—
(i) are evaluated and certified by the Secretary of Homeland Security;
(ii) meet the definition of a qualified anti-terrorism technology under section 865 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 444); and
(iii) are determined by the Administrator to provide a risk assessment that is as effective as a fingerprint-based criminal history records check conducted through the Federal Bureau of Investigation with respect to identifying individuals who are not qualified to participate in the PreCheck Program due to disqualifying criminal history; and
(B) with regard to private sector risk assessments, the Secretary has certified that reasonable procedures are in place with regard to the accuracy, relevancy, and proper utilization of information employed in such risk assessments.
(d)Additional Capability Requirements.—At least 1 agreement under subsection (b) shall include the following capabilities:
(1) Start-to-finish secure online or mobile enrollment capability.
(2) Vetting of an applicant by means of biometrics if the collection—
(A) is comparable with the appropriate and applicable standards developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology;
(B) protects privacy and data security, including that any personally identifiable information is collected, retained, used, and shared in a manner consistent with section 552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as “Privacy Act of 1974”), and with agency regulations;
(C) is evaluated and certified by the Secretary of Homeland Security; and
(D) is determined by the Administrator to provide a risk assessment that is as effective as a fingerprint-based criminal history records check conducted through the Federal Bureau of Investigation with respect to identifying individuals who are not qualified to participate in the PreCheck Program due to disqualifying criminal history.
(e)Target Enrollment.—Subject to subsections (b), (c), and (d), the Administrator shall take actions to expand the total number of individuals enrolled in the PreCheck Program as follows:
(1) 7,000,000 passengers before October 1, 2019.
(2) 10,000,000 passengers before October 1, 2020.
(3) 15,000,000 passengers before October 1, 2021.
(f)Marketing of PreCheck Program.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of the TSA Modernization Act, the Administrator shall—
(1) enter into at least 2 agreements, using other transaction authority under section 114(m) of this title, to market the PreCheck Program; and
(2) implement a long-term strategy for partnering with the private sector to encourage enrollment in such program.
(g)Identity Verification Enhancement.—The Administrator shall—
(1) coordinate with the heads of appropriate components of the Department to leverage Department-held data and technologies to verify the identity and citizenship of individuals enrolling in the PreCheck Program;
(2) partner with the private sector to use biometrics and authentication standards, such as relevant standards developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to facilitate enrollment in the program; and
(3) consider leveraging the existing resources and abilities of airports to collect fingerprints for use in background checks to expedite identity verification.
(h)PreCheck Program Lanes Operation.—The Administrator shall—
(1) ensure that PreCheck Program screening lanes are open and available during peak and high-volume travel times at appropriate airports to individuals enrolled in the PreCheck Program; and
(2) make every practicable effort to provide expedited screening at standard screening lanes during times when PreCheck Program screening lanes are closed to individuals enrolled in the program in order to maintain operational efficiency.
(i)Eligibility of Members of the Armed Forces for Expedited Security Screening.—
(1)In general.—Subject to paragraph (3), an individual specified in paragraph (2) is eligible for expedited security screening under the PreCheck Program.
(2)Individuals specified.—An individual specified in this subsection is any of the following:
(A) A member of the Armed Forces, including a member of a reserve component or the National Guard.
(B) A cadet or midshipman of the United States Military Academy, the United States Naval Academy, the United States Air Force Academy, or the United States Coast Guard Academy.
(C) A family member of an individual specified in subparagraph (A) or (B) who is younger than 12 years old and accompanying the individual.
(3)Implementation.—The eligibility of an individual specified in paragraph (2) for expedited security screening under the PreCheck Program is subject to such policies and procedures as the Administrator may prescribe to carry out this subsection, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and, with respect to the United States Coast Guard, the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard.
(j)Vetting for PreCheck Program Participants.—The Administrator shall initiate an assessment to identify any security vulnerabilities in the vetting process for the PreCheck Program, including determining whether subjecting PreCheck Program participants to recurrent fingerprint-based criminal history records checks, in addition to recurrent checks against the terrorist watchlist, could be done in a cost-effective manner to strengthen the security of the PreCheck Program.
(k)Assurance of Separate Program.—In carrying out this section, the Administrator shall ensure that the additional private sector application capabilities under subsections (b), (c), and (d) are undertaken in addition to any other related TSA program, initiative, or procurement, including the Universal Enrollment Services program.
(l) Expenditure of Funds.—Any Federal funds expended by the Administrator to expand PreCheck Program enrollment shall be expended in a manner that includes the requirements of this section.
(Added Pub. L. 107–71, title I, § 108(a), Nov. 19, 2001, 115 Stat. 611; amended Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, § 1937(a), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3576.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44919

§ 44920. Screening partnership program
(a)In General.—An airport operator may submit to the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration an application to carry out the screening of passengers and property at the airport under section 44901 by personnel of a qualified private screening company pursuant to a contract entered into with the Transportation Security Administration.
(b)Approval of Applications.—
(1)In general.—Not later than 60 days after the date of receipt of an application submitted by an airport operator under subsection (a), the Administrator shall approve or deny the application.
(2)Standards.—The Administrator shall approve an application submitted by an airport operator under subsection (a) if the Administrator determines that the approval would not compromise security or detrimentally affect the cost-efficiency or the effectiveness of the screening of passengers or property at the airport.
(3)Reports on denials of applications.—
(A)In general.—If the Administrator denies an application submitted by an airport operator under subsection (a), the Administrator shall provide to the airport operator, not later than 60 days following the date of the denial, a written report that sets forth—
(i) the findings that served as the basis for the denial;
(ii) the results of any cost or security analysis conducted in considering the application; and
(iii) recommendations on how the airport operator can address the reasons for the denial.
(B)Submission to congress.—The Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives a copy of any report provided to an airport operator under subparagraph (A).
(c)Qualified Private Screening Company.—A private screening company is qualified to provide screening services at an airport under this section if the company will only employ individuals to provide such services who meet all the requirements of this chapter applicable to Federal Government personnel who perform screening services at airports under this chapter and will provide compensation and other benefits to such individuals that are not less than the level of compensation and other benefits provided to such Federal Government personnel in accordance with this chapter.
(d)Selection of Contracts and Standards for Private Screening Companies.—
(1)In general.—The Administrator shall, upon approval of the application, provide the airport operator with a list of qualified private screening companies.
(2)Contracts.—The Administrator shall, to the extent practicable, enter into a contract with a private screening company from the list provided under paragraph (1) for the provision of screening at the airport not later than 120 days after the date of approval of an application submitted by the airport operator under subsection (a) if—
(A) the level of screening services and protection provided at the airport under the contract will be equal to or greater than the level that would be provided at the airport by Federal Government personnel under this chapter;
(B) the private screening company is owned and controlled by a citizen of the United States, to the extent that the Administrator determines that there are private screening companies owned and controlled by such citizens; and
(C) the selected qualified private screening company offered contract price is equal to or less than the cost to the Federal Government to provide screening services at the airport.
(3)Waivers.—The Administrator may waive the requirement of paragraph (2)(B) for any company that is a United States subsidiary with a parent company that has implemented a foreign ownership, control, or influence mitigation plan that has been approved by the Defense Security Service of the Department of Defense prior to the submission of the application. The Administrator has complete discretion to reject any application from a private screening company to provide screening services at an airport that requires a waiver under this paragraph.
(e)Supervision of Screening Personnel.—The Administrator shall—
(1) provide Federal Government supervisors to oversee all screening at each airport at which screening services are provided under this section and provide Federal Government law enforcement officers at the airport pursuant to this chapter; and
(2) undertake covert testing and remedial training support for employees of private screening companies providing screening at airports.
(f)Termination or Suspension of Contracts.—The Administrator may suspend or terminate, as appropriate, any contract entered into with a private screening company to provide screening services at an airport under this section if the Administrator finds that the company has failed repeatedly to comply with any standard, regulation, directive, order, law, or contract applicable to the hiring or training of personnel to provide such services or to the provision of screening at the airport.
(g)Operator of Airport.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an operator of an airport shall not be liable for any claims for damages filed in State or Federal court (including a claim for compensatory, punitive, contributory, or indemnity damages) relating to—
(1) such airport operator’s decision to submit an application to the Secretary of Homeland Security under subsection (a) or such airport operator’s decision not to submit an application; and
(2) any act of negligence, gross negligence, or intentional wrongdoing by—
(A) a qualified private screening company or any of its employees in any case in which the qualified private screening company is acting under a contract entered into with the Secretary of Homeland Security or the Secretary’s designee; or
(B) employees of the Federal Government providing passenger and property security screening services at the airport.
(3) Nothing in this section shall relieve any airport operator from liability for its own acts or omissions related to its security responsibilities, nor except as may be provided by the Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 2002 shall it relieve any qualified private screening company or its employees from any liability related to its own acts of negligence, gross negligence, or intentional wrongdoing.
(h)Evaluation of Screening Company Proposals for Award.—
(1)In general.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), notwithstanding any other provision of law, including title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.),1
1 See References in Text note below.
an airport operator that has applied and been approved to have security screening services carried out by a qualified private screening company under contract with the Administrator may nominate to the head of the contracting activity an individual to participate in the evaluation of proposals for the award of such contract.
(2)Participation on a proposal evaluation committee.—Any participation on a proposal evaluation committee under paragraph (1) shall be conducted in accordance with chapter 21 of title 41.
(i)2
2 So in original. Two subsecs. (i) have been enacted.
Innovative Screening Approaches and Technologies.—In this section, the term “Administrator” means the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration.
(i)2 Definition of Administrator.—In this section, the term “Administrator” means the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration.
(Added Pub. L. 107–71, title I, § 108(a), Nov. 19, 2001, 115 Stat. 612; amended Pub. L. 109–90, title V, § 547, Oct. 18, 2005, 119 Stat. 2089; Pub. L. 112–95, title VIII, § 830(a)–(c), Feb. 14, 2012, 126 Stat. 135; Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, §§ 1946(a), 1991(d)(17), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3585, 3636.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44920

§ 44921. Federal flight deck officer program
(a)Establishment.—The Administrator shall establish a program to deputize volunteer pilots of air carriers providing air transportation or intrastate air transportation as Federal law enforcement officers to defend the flight decks of aircraft of such air carriers against acts of criminal violence or air piracy. Such officers shall be known as “Federal flight deck officers”.
(b)Procedural Requirements.—
(1)In general.—The Administrator shall establish procedural requirements to carry out the program under this section.
(2)Commencement of program.—The Administrator shall train and deputize pilots who are qualified to be Federal flight deck officers as Federal flight deck officers under the program.
(3)Issues to be addressed.—The procedural requirements established under paragraph (1) shall address the following issues:
(A) The type of firearm to be used by a Federal flight deck officer.
(B) The type of ammunition to be used by a Federal flight deck officer.
(C) The standards and training needed to qualify and requalify as a Federal flight deck officer.
(D) The placement of the firearm of a Federal flight deck officer on board the aircraft to ensure both its security and its ease of retrieval in an emergency.
(E) An analysis of the risk of catastrophic failure of an aircraft as a result of the discharge (including an accidental discharge) of a firearm to be used in the program into the avionics, electrical systems, or other sensitive areas of the aircraft.
(F) The division of responsibility between pilots in the event of an act of criminal violence or air piracy if only 1 pilot is a Federal flight deck officer and if both pilots are Federal flight deck officers.
(G) Procedures for ensuring that the firearm of a Federal flight deck officer does not leave the cockpit if there is a disturbance in the passenger cabin of the aircraft or if the pilot leaves the cockpit for personal reasons.
(H) Interaction between a Federal flight deck officer and a Federal air marshal on board the aircraft.
(I) The process for selection of pilots to participate in the program based on their fitness to participate in the program, including whether an additional background check should be required beyond that required by section 44936(a)(1).
(J) Storage and transportation of firearms between flights, including international flights, to ensure the security of the firearms, focusing particularly on whether such security would be enhanced by requiring storage of the firearm at the airport when the pilot leaves the airport to remain overnight away from the pilot’s base airport.
(K) Methods for ensuring that security personnel will be able to identify whether a pilot is authorized to carry a firearm under the program.
(L) Methods for ensuring that pilots (including Federal flight deck officers) will be able to identify whether a passenger is a law enforcement officer who is authorized to carry a firearm aboard the aircraft.
(M) Any other issues that the Administrator considers necessary.
(N) The Administrator’s decisions regarding the methods for implementing each of the foregoing procedural requirements shall be subject to review only for abuse of discretion.
(4)Preference.—In selecting pilots to participate in the program, the Administrator shall give preference to pilots who are former military or law enforcement personnel.
(5)Classified information.—Notwithstanding section 552 of title 5 but subject to section 40119 1
1 See References in Text note below.
of this title, information developed under paragraph (3)(E) shall not be disclosed.
(6)Notice to congress.—The Administrator shall provide notice to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate after completing the analysis required by paragraph (3)(E).
(7)Minimization of risk.—If the Administrator determines as a result of the analysis under paragraph (3)(E) that there is a significant risk of the catastrophic failure of an aircraft as a result of the discharge of a firearm, the Administrator shall take such actions as may be necessary to minimize that risk.
(c)Training, Supervision, and Equipment.—
(1)In general.—The Administrator shall only be obligated to provide the training, supervision, and equipment necessary for a pilot to be a Federal flight deck officer under this section at no expense to the pilot or the air carrier employing the pilot.
(2)Training.—
(A)In general.—The Administrator shall base the requirements for the training of Federal flight deck officers under subsection (b) on the training standards applicable to Federal air marshals; except that the Administrator shall take into account the differing roles and responsibilities of Federal flight deck officers and Federal air marshals.
(B)Elements.—The training of a Federal flight deck officer shall include, at a minimum, the following elements:
(i) Training to ensure that the officer achieves the level of proficiency with a firearm required under subparagraph (C)(i).
(ii) Training to ensure that the officer maintains exclusive control over the officer’s firearm at all times, including training in defensive maneuvers.
(iii) Training to assist the officer in determining when it is appropriate to use the officer’s firearm and when it is appropriate to use less than lethal force.
(C)Training in use of firearms.—
(i)Standard.—In order to be deputized as a Federal flight deck officer, a pilot must achieve a level of proficiency with a firearm that is required by the Administrator. Such level shall be comparable to the level of proficiency required of Federal air marshals.
(ii)Conduct of training.—(I)In general.—The training of a Federal flight deck officer in the use of a firearm may be conducted by the Administrator or by a firearms training facility.(II)Access to training facilities.—The Administrator shall designate additional firearms training facilities located in various regions of the United States for Federal flight deck officers for recurrent and requalifying training relative to the number of such facilities available on the day before such 2
2 So in original.
date of enactment.
(iii)Requalification.—(I)In general.—The Administrator shall require a Federal flight deck officer to requalify to carry a firearm under the program. Such requalification shall occur at an interval required by the Administrator.(II)Use of facilities for requalification.—The Administrator shall allow a Federal flight deck officer to requalify to carry a firearm under the program through training at a Transportation Security Administration-approved firearms training facility utilizing a Transportation Security Administration-approved contractor and a curriculum developed and approved by the Transportation Security Administration.
(iv)Periodic review.—The Administrator shall periodically review requalification training intervals and assess whether it is appropriate and sufficient to adjust the time between each requalification training to facilitate continued participation in the program under this section while still maintaining effectiveness of the training, and update the training requirements as appropriate.
(D)Training review.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of the TSA Modernization Act, and biennially thereafter, the Administrator shall review training facilities and training requirements for initial and recurrent training for Federal flight deck officers and evaluate how training requirements, including the length of training, could be streamlined while maintaining the effectiveness of the training, and update the training requirements as appropriate.
(d)Deputization.—
(1)In general.—The Administrator may deputize, as a Federal flight deck officer under this section, a pilot who submits to the Administrator a request to be such an officer and whom the Administrator determines is qualified to be such an officer.
(2)Qualification.—
(A)In general.—A pilot is qualified to be a Federal flight deck officer under this section if—
(i) the pilot is employed by an air carrier;
(ii) the Administrator determines (in the Administrator’s discretion) that the pilot meets the standards established by the Administrator for being such an officer; and
(iii) the Administrator determines that the pilot has completed the training required by the Administrator.
(B)Consistency with requirements for certain medical certificates.—In establishing standards under subparagraph (A)(ii), the Administrator may not establish medical or physical standards for a pilot to become a Federal flight deck officer that are inconsistent with or more stringent than the requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration for the issuance of the required airman medical certificate under part 67 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (or any corresponding similar regulation or ruling).
(3)Deputization by other federal agencies.—The Administrator may request another Federal agency to deputize, as Federal flight deck officers under this section, those pilots that the Administrator determines are qualified to be such officers.
(4)Revocation.—The Administrator may (in the Administrator’s discretion) revoke the deputization of a pilot as a Federal flight deck officer if the Administrator finds that the pilot is no longer qualified to be such an officer.
(5)Transfer from inactive to active status.—In accordance with any applicable Transportation Security Administration appeals processes, a pilot deputized as a Federal flight deck officer who moves to inactive status may return to active status upon successful completion of a recurrent training program administered within program guidelines.
(e)Compensation.—
(1)In general.—Pilots participating in the program under this section shall not be eligible for compensation from the Federal Government for services provided as a Federal flight deck officer. The Federal Government and air carriers shall not be obligated to compensate a pilot for participating in the program or for the pilot’s training or qualification and requalification to carry firearms under the program.
(2)Facilitation of training.—An air carrier shall permit a pilot seeking to be deputized as a Federal flight deck officer or a Federal flight deck officer to take a reasonable amount of leave to participate in initial, recurrent, or requalification training, as applicable, for the program. Leave required under this paragraph may be provided without compensation.
(f)Authority To Carry Firearms.—
(1)In general.—The Administrator shall authorize a Federal flight deck officer to carry a firearm while engaged in providing air transportation or intrastate air transportation. Notwithstanding subsection (c)(1), the officer may purchase a firearm and carry that firearm aboard an aircraft of which the officer is the pilot in accordance with this section if the firearm is of a type that may be used under the program.
(2)Preemption.—Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal or State law, a Federal flight deck officer, whenever necessary to participate in the program, may carry a firearm in any State and from 1 State to another State.
(3)Carrying firearms outside united states.—In consultation with the Secretary of State, the Administrator may take such action as may be necessary to ensure that a Federal flight deck officer may carry a firearm in a foreign country whenever necessary to participate in the program.
(4)Consistency with federal air marshal program.—The Administrator shall harmonize, to the extent practicable and in a manner that does not jeopardize existing Federal air marshal agreements, the policies relating to the carriage of firearms on international flights by Federal flight deck officers with the policies of the Federal air marshal program for carrying firearms on such flights and carrying out the duties of a Federal flight deck officer, notwithstanding Annex 17 of the International Civil Aviation Organization.
(g)Authority To Use Force.—Notwithstanding section 44903(d), the Administrator shall prescribe the standards and circumstances under which a Federal flight deck officer may use, while the program under this section is in effect, force (including lethal force) against an individual in the defense of the flight deck of an aircraft in air transportation or intrastate air transportation.
(h)Limitation on Liability.—
(1)Liability of air carriers.—An air carrier shall not be liable for damages in any action brought in a Federal or State court arising out of a Federal flight deck officer’s use of or failure to use a firearm.
(2)Liability of federal flight deck officers.—A Federal flight deck officer shall not be liable for damages in any action brought in a Federal or State court arising out of the acts or omissions of the officer in defending the flight deck of an aircraft against acts of criminal violence or air piracy unless the officer is guilty of gross negligence or willful misconduct.
(3)Liability of federal government.—For purposes of an action against the United States with respect to an act or omission of a Federal flight deck officer in defending the flight deck of an aircraft, the officer shall be treated as an employee of the Federal Government under chapter 171 of title 28, relating to tort claims procedure.
(i)Procedures Following Accidental Discharges.—If an accidental discharge of a firearm under the pilot program results in the injury or death of a passenger or crew member on an aircraft, the Administrator—
(1) shall revoke the deputization of the Federal flight deck officer responsible for that firearm if the Administrator determines that the discharge was attributable to the negligence of the officer; and
(2) if the Administrator determines that a shortcoming in standards, training, or procedures was responsible for the accidental discharge, may temporarily suspend the program until the shortcoming is corrected.
(j)Limitation on Authority of Air Carriers.—No air carrier shall prohibit or threaten any retaliatory action against a pilot employed by the air carrier from becoming a Federal flight deck officer under this section. No air carrier shall—
(1) prohibit a Federal flight deck officer from piloting an aircraft operated by the air carrier; or
(2) terminate the employment of a Federal flight deck officer, solely on the basis of his or her volunteering for or participating in the program under this section.
(k)Applicability.—This section shall not apply to air carriers operating under part 135 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, and to pilots employed by such carriers to the extent that such carriers and pilots are covered by section 135.119 of such title or any successor to such section.
(l)Definitions.—In this section:
(1)Administrator.—The term “Administrator” means the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration.
(2)Air transportation.—The term “air transportation” includes all-cargo air transportation.
(3)Firearms training facility.—The term “firearms training facility” means a private or government-owned gun range approved by the Administrator to provide recurrent or requalification training, as applicable, for the program, utilizing a Transportation Security Administration-approved contractor and a curriculum developed and approved by the Transportation Security Administration.
(4)Pilot.—The term “pilot” means an individual who has final authority and responsibility for the operation and safety of the flight or any other flight deck crew member.
(Added Pub. L. 107–296, title XIV, § 1402(a), Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2300; amended Pub. L. 108–176, title VI, § 609(b), Dec. 12, 2003, 117 Stat. 2570; Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, § 1963(a)–(h), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3601–3603.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44921

§ 44922. Deputization of State and local law enforcement officers
(a)Deputization Authority.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration may deputize a State or local law enforcement officer to carry out Federal airport security duties under this chapter.
(b)Fulfillment of Requirements.—A State or local law enforcement officer who is deputized under this section shall be treated as a Federal law enforcement officer for purposes of meeting the requirements of this chapter and other provisions of law to provide Federal law enforcement officers to carry out Federal airport security duties.
(c)Agreements.—To deputize a State or local law enforcement officer under this section, the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall enter into a voluntary agreement with the appropriate State or local law enforcement agency that employs the State or local law enforcement officer.
(d)Reimbursement.—
(1)In general.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall reimburse a State or local law enforcement agency for all reasonable, allowable, and allocable costs incurred by the State or local law enforcement agency with respect to a law enforcement officer deputized under this section.
(2)Authorization of appropriations.—There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this subsection.
(e)Federal Tort Claims Act.—A State or local law enforcement officer who is deputized under this section shall be treated as an “employee of the Government” for purposes of sections 1346(b), 2401(b), and chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code, while carrying out Federal airport security duties within the course and scope of the officer’s employment, subject to Federal supervision and control, and in accordance with the terms of such deputization.
(f)Stationing of Officers.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration may allow law enforcement personnel to be stationed other than at the airport security screening location if that would be preferable for law enforcement purposes and if such personnel would still be able to provide prompt responsiveness to problems occurring at the screening location.
(Added Pub. L. 108–7, div. I, title III, § 351(a), Feb. 20, 2003, 117 Stat. 419; amended Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, § 1991(d)(18), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3636.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44922

§ 44923. Airport security improvement projects
(a)Grant Authority.—Subject to the requirements of this section, the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall make grants to airport sponsors—
(1) for projects to replace baggage conveyer systems related to aviation security;
(2) for projects to reconfigure terminal baggage areas as needed to install explosive detection systems;
(3) for projects to enable the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration to deploy explosive detection systems behind the ticket counter, in the baggage sorting area, or in line with the baggage handling system; and
(4) for other airport security capital improvement projects.
(b)Applications.—A sponsor seeking a grant under this section shall submit to the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration an application in such form and containing such information as the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration prescribes.
(c)Approval.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, after consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, may approve an application of a sponsor for a grant under this section only if the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration determines that the project will improve security at an airport or improve the efficiency of the airport without lessening security.
(d)Letters of Intent.—
(1)Issuance.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall issue a letter of intent to a sponsor committing to obligate from future budget authority an amount, not more than the Federal Government’s share of the project’s cost, for an airport security improvement project (including interest costs and costs of formulating the project).
(2)Schedule.—A letter of intent under this subsection shall establish a schedule under which the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration will reimburse the sponsor for the Government’s share of the project’s costs, as amounts become available, if the sponsor, after the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration issues the letter, carries out the project without receiving amounts under this section.
(3)Notice to administrator of the transportation security administration.—A sponsor that has been issued a letter of intent under this subsection shall notify the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration of the sponsor’s intent to carry out a project before the project begins.
(4)Notice to congress.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall transmit to the Committees on Appropriations and Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committees on Appropriations and Commerce, Science 1
1 So in original. Probably should be “Science,”.
and Transportation of the Senate a written notification at least 3 days before the issuance of a letter of intent under this section.
(5)Limitations.—A letter of intent issued under this subsection is not an obligation of the Government under section 1501 of title 31, and the letter is not deemed to be an administrative commitment for financing. An obligation or administrative commitment may be made only as amounts are provided in authorization and appropriations laws.
(6)Statutory construction.—Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit the obligation of amounts pursuant to a letter of intent under this subsection in the same fiscal year as the letter of intent is issued.
(e)Federal Share.—The Government’s share of the cost of a project under this section shall be 90 percent for a project at a medium or large hub airport and 95 percent for a project at any other airport.
(f)Sponsor Defined.—In this section, the term “sponsor” has the meaning given that term in section 47102.
(g)Applicability of Certain Requirements.—The requirements that apply to grants and letters of intent issued under chapter 471 (other than section 47102(3)) shall apply to grants and letters of intent issued under this section.
(h)Aviation Security Capital Fund.—
(1)In general.—There is established within the Department of Homeland Security a fund to be known as the Aviation Security Capital Fund. The first $250,000,000 derived from fees received under section 44940(a)(1) in each of fiscal years 2004 through 2028 shall be available to be deposited in the Fund. The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall impose the fee authorized by section 44940(a)(1) so as to collect at least $250,000,000 in each of such fiscal years for deposit into the Fund. Amounts in the Fund shall be available to the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration to make grants under this section.
(2)Allocation.—Of the amount made available under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, not less than $200,000,000 shall be allocated to fulfill letters of intent issued under subsection (d).
(3)Discretionary grants.—Of the amount made available under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, up to $50,000,000 shall be used to make discretionary grants, including other transaction agreements for airport security improvement projects, with priority given to small hub airports and nonhub airports.
(i)Leveraged Funding.—For purposes of this section, a grant under subsection (a) to an airport sponsor to service an obligation issued by or on behalf of that sponsor to fund a project described in subsection (a) shall be considered to be a grant for that project.
(Added Pub. L. 108–176, title VI, § 605(a), Dec. 12, 2003, 117 Stat. 2566; amended Pub. L. 108–458, title IV, § 4019(e)(1), Dec. 17, 2004, 118 Stat. 3722; Pub. L. 110–53, title XVI, §§ 1603(a), 1604(a), Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 480; Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, § 1991(d)(19), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3636.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44923

§ 44924. Repair station security
(a)Security Review and Audit.—To ensure the security of maintenance and repair work conducted on air carrier aircraft and components at foreign repair stations, the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, in consultation with the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, shall complete a security review and audit of foreign repair stations that are certified by the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration under part 145 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, and that work on air carrier aircraft and components. The review shall be completed not later than 6 months after the date on which the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration issues regulations under subsection (f).
(b)Addressing Security Concerns.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall require a foreign repair station to address the security issues and vulnerabilities identified in a security audit conducted under subsection (a) within 90 days of providing notice to the repair station of the security issues and vulnerabilities so identified and shall notify the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration that a deficiency was identified in the security audit.
(c)Suspensions and Revocations of Certificates.—
(1)Failure to carry out effective security measures.—If, after the 90th day on which a notice is provided to a foreign repair station under subsection (b), the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration determines that the foreign repair station does not maintain and carry out effective security measures, the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall notify the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration of the determination. Upon receipt of the determination, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall suspend the certification of the repair station until such time as the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration determines that the repair station maintains and carries out effective security measures and transmits the determination to the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.
(2)Immediate security risk.—If the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration determines that a foreign repair station poses an immediate security risk, the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall notify the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration of the determination. Upon receipt of the determination, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall revoke the certification of the repair station.
(3)Procedures for appeals.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, in consultation with the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, shall establish procedures for appealing a revocation of a certificate under this subsection.
(d)Failure To Meet Audit Deadline.—If the security audits required by subsection (a) are not completed on or before the date that is 6 months after the date on which the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration issues regulations under subsection (f), the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall be barred from certifying any foreign repair station (other than a station that was previously certified, or is in the process of certification, by the Administration under this part) until such audits are completed for existing stations.
(e)Priority for Audits.—In conducting the audits described in subsection (a), the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration and the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall give priority to foreign repair stations located in countries identified by the Government as posing the most significant security risks.
(f)Regulations.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, in consultation with the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, shall issue final regulations to ensure the security of foreign and domestic aircraft repair stations.
(g)Report to Congress.—If the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration does not issue final regulations before the deadline specified in subsection (f), the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall transmit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report containing an explanation as to why the deadline was not met and a schedule for issuing the final regulations.
(Added Pub. L. 108–176, title VI, § 611(b)(1), Dec. 12, 2003, 117 Stat. 2571; amended Pub. L. 110–53, title XVI, § 1616(b), Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 488; Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, § 1991(d)(20), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3637.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44924

§ 44925. Deployment and use of detection equipment at airport screening checkpoints
(a)Weapons and Explosives.—The Secretary of Homeland Security shall give a high priority to developing, testing, improving, and deploying, at airport screening checkpoints, equipment that detects nonmetallic, chemical, biological, and radiological weapons, and explosives, in all forms, on individuals and in their personal property. The Secretary shall ensure that the equipment alone, or as part of an integrated system, can detect under realistic operating conditions the types of weapons and explosives that terrorists would likely try to smuggle aboard an air carrier aircraft.
(b)Strategic Plan for Deployment and Use of Explosive Detection Equipment at Airport Screening Checkpoints.—
(1)In general.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a strategic plan to promote the optimal utilization and deployment of explosive detection equipment at airports to screen individuals and their personal property. Such equipment includes walk-through explosive detection portals, document scanners, shoe scanners, and backscatter x-ray scanners. The plan may be submitted in a classified format.
(2)Content.—The strategic plan shall include, at minimum—
(A) a description of current efforts to detect explosives in all forms on individuals and in their personal property;
(B) a description of the operational applications of explosive detection equipment at airport screening checkpoints;
(C) a deployment schedule and a description of the quantities of equipment needed to implement the plan;
(D) a description of funding needs to implement the plan, including a financing plan that provides for leveraging of non-Federal funding;
(E) a description of the measures taken and anticipated to be taken in carrying out subsection (d); and
(F) a description of any recommended legislative actions.
(c)Portal Detection Systems.—There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Homeland Security for the use of the Transportation Security Administration $250,000,000, in addition to any amounts otherwise authorized by law, for research, development, and installation of detection systems and other devices for the detection of biological, chemical, radiological, and explosive materials.
(d)Interim Action.—Until measures are implemented that enable the screening of all passengers for explosives, the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall provide, by such means as the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration considers appropriate, explosives detection screening for all passengers identified for additional screening and their personal property that will be carried aboard a passenger aircraft operated by an air carrier or foreign air carrier in air transportation or intrastate air transportation.
(Added Pub. L. 108–458, title IV, § 4013(a), Dec. 17, 2004, 118 Stat. 3719; amended Pub. L. 110–53, title XVI, § 1607(b), Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 483; Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, § 1991(d)(21), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3637.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44925

§ 44926. Appeal and redress process for passengers wrongly delayed or prohibited from boarding a flight
(a)In General.—The Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish a timely and fair process for individuals who believe they have been delayed or prohibited from boarding a commercial aircraft because they were wrongly identified as a threat under the regimes utilized by the Transportation Security Administration, United States Customs and Border Protection, or any other office or component of the Department of Homeland Security.
(b)Office of Appeals and Redress.—
(1)Establishment.—The Secretary shall establish in the Department an Office of Appeals and Redress to implement, coordinate, and execute the process established by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (a). The Office shall include representatives from the Transportation Security Administration, United States Customs and Border Protection, and such other offices and components of the Department as the Secretary determines appropriate.
(2)Records.—The process established by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (a) shall include the establishment of a method by which the Office, under the direction of the Secretary, will be able to maintain a record of air carrier passengers and other individuals who have been misidentified and have corrected erroneous information.
(3)Information.—To prevent repeated delays of a misidentified passenger or other individual, the Office shall—
(A) ensure that the records maintained under this subsection contain information determined by the Secretary to authenticate the identity of such a passenger or individual;
(B) furnish to the Transportation Security Administration, United States Customs and Border Protection, or any other appropriate office or component of the Department, upon request, such information as may be necessary to allow such office or component to assist air carriers in improving their administration of the advanced passenger prescreening system and reduce the number of false positives; and
(C) require air carriers and foreign air carriers take action to identify passengers determined, under the process established under subsection (a), to have been wrongly identified.
(4)Handling of personally identifiable information.—The Secretary, in conjunction with the Chief Privacy Officer of the Department shall—
(A) require that Federal employees of the Department handling personally identifiable information of passengers (in this paragraph referred to as “PII”) complete mandatory privacy and security training prior to being authorized to handle PII;
(B) ensure that the records maintained under this subsection are secured by encryption, one-way hashing, other data anonymization techniques, or such other equivalent security technical protections as the Secretary determines necessary;
(C) limit the information collected from misidentified passengers or other individuals to the minimum amount necessary to resolve a redress request;
(D) require that the data generated under this subsection shall be shared or transferred via a secure data network, that has been audited to ensure that the anti-hacking and other security related software functions properly and is updated as necessary;
(E) ensure that any employee of the Department receiving the data contained within the records handles the information in accordance with the section 552a of title 5, United States Code, and the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–296);
(F) only retain the data for as long as needed to assist the individual traveler in the redress process; and
(G) conduct and publish a privacy impact assessment of the process described within this subsection and transmit the assessment to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, and Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
(5)Initiation of redress process at airports.—The Office shall establish at each airport at which the Department has a significant presence a process to provide information to air carrier passengers to begin the redress process established pursuant to subsection (a).
(Added Pub. L. 110–53, title XVI, § 1606(a), Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 482; amended Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, § 1991(d)(22), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3637.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44926

§ 44927. Expedited screening for severely injured or disabled members of the Armed Forces and severely injured or disabled veterans
(a)Passenger Screening.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and organizations identified by the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs that advocate on behalf of severely injured or disabled members of the Armed Forces and severely injured or disabled veterans, shall develop and implement a process to support and facilitate the ease of travel and to the extent possible provide expedited passenger screening services for severely injured or disabled members of the Armed Forces and severely injured or disabled veterans through passenger screening. The process shall be designed to offer the individual private screening to the maximum extent practicable.
(b)Operations Center.—As part of the process under subsection (a), the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall maintain an operations center to provide support and facilitate the movement of severely injured or disabled members of the Armed Forces and severely injured or disabled veterans through passenger screening prior to boarding a passenger aircraft operated by an air carrier or foreign air carrier in air transportation or intrastate air transportation.
(c)Protocols.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall—
(1) establish and publish protocols, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and the organizations identified under subsection (a), under which a severely injured or disabled member of the Armed Forces or severely injured or disabled veteran, or the family member or other representative of such member or veteran, may contact the operations center maintained under subsection (b) and request the expedited passenger screening services described in subsection (a) for that member or veteran; and
(2) upon receipt of a request under paragraph (1), require the operations center to notify the appropriate Federal Security Director of the request for expedited passenger screening services, as described in subsection (a), for that member or veteran.
(d)Training.—The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall integrate training on the protocols established under subsection (c) into the training provided to all employees who will regularly provide the passenger screening services described in subsection (a).
(e)Rule of Construction.—Nothing in this section shall affect the authority of the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration to require additional screening of a severely injured or disabled member of the Armed Forces, a severely injured or disabled veteran, or their accompanying family members or nonmedical attendants, if intelligence, law enforcement, or other information indicates that additional screening is necessary.
(f)Reports.—Each year, the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall submit to Congress a report on the implementation of this section. Each report shall include each of the following:
(1) Information on the training provided under subsection (d).
(2) Information on the consultations between the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration and the organizations identified under subsection (a).
(3) The number of people who accessed the operations center during the period covered by the report.
(4) Such other information as the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration determines is appropriate.
(Added Pub. L. 113–27, § 2(a), Aug. 9, 2013, 127 Stat. 503; amended Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, § 1991(d)(23), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3637.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44927

§ 44928. Honor Flight program

The Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall establish, in collaboration with the Honor Flight Network or other not-for-profit organization that honors veterans, a process for providing expedited and dignified passenger screening services for veterans traveling on an Honor Flight Network private charter, or such other not-for-profit organization that honors veterans, to visit war memorials built and dedicated to honor the service of such veterans.

(Added Pub. L. 113–221, § 2(a), Dec. 16, 2014, 128 Stat. 2094.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44928

§ 44929. Donation of screening equipment to protect the United States
(a)In General.—Subject to subsection (b), the Administrator is authorized to donate security screening equipment to a foreign last point of departure airport operator if such equipment can be reasonably expected to mitigate a specific vulnerability to the security of the United States or United States citizens.
(b)Conditions.—Before donating any security screening equipment to a foreign last point of departure airport operator the Administrator shall—
(1) ensure that the screening equipment has been restored to commercially available settings;
(2) ensure that no TSA-specific security standards or algorithms exist on the screening equipment; and
(3) verify that the appropriate officials have an adequate system—
(A) to properly maintain and operate the screening equipment; and
(B) to document and track any removal or disposal of the screening equipment to ensure the screening equipment does not come into the possession of terrorists or otherwise pose a risk to security.
(c)Reports.—Not later than 30 days before any donation of security screening equipment under subsection (a), the Administrator shall provide to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives a detailed written explanation of the following:
(1) The specific vulnerability to the United States or United States citizens that will be mitigated by such donation.
(2) An explanation as to why the recipient of such donation is unable or unwilling to purchase security screening equipment to mitigate such vulnerability.
(3) An evacuation plan for sensitive technologies in case of emergency or instability in the country to which such donation is being made.
(4) How the Administrator will ensure the security screening equipment that is being donated is used and maintained over the course of its life by the recipient.
(5) The total dollar value of such donation.
(6) How the appropriate officials will document and track any removal or disposal of the screening equipment by the recipient to ensure the screening equipment does not come into the possession of terrorists or otherwise pose a risk to security.
(Added Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, § 1955(a)(1), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3595.)

CITE AS: 49 USC 44929