Should the Airlines be Forced to Fingerprint Passengers?

...and should they have to pay for it?

The Bush Administration and the Department of Homeland Security have told the airline carriers that they will collect biometric information such as fingerprints from foreign travelers on their exit from the United States. I will refrain from discussing the political and social aspects of this request and instead will focus on the financial and technological aspects of such an idea.

The US-based airline carriers are facing record fuel prices, increased competition, price elastic demand, and a volatile customer base. If the administration forces the airlines to also fingerprint passengers, the additional infrastructure, storage, networking, and security costs would kill IT budgets. It could also cause the airlines that are close to the edge financially to either further pull back operations or perhaps file for bankruptcy.

Beside the financial burden this would place on the airlines another question that must be asked is: why? Why should the airlines collect and maintain biometric records of their passengers? We currently have the federal government stopping to check for both citizen/visa status as well as customs inspection at all ports of entry. Why can't we just turn some of those booths around the other way?

The DHS is already collecting fingerprints and taking pictures of people that visit the country. Why should the airlines duplicate the entire infrastructure costs that are associated with this program? The costs would include the purchase of fingerprint scanners, computer systems, programs, databases, and storage as well as an interface into the federal government system. The cost for putting these systems into each international airport will be huge, and will have to be duplicated by each airline.

This is the ultimate "pass the buck" program. The Bush administration and the DHS shouldn't place this undue burden on the airlines who will, in turn, pass the costs onto the consumer... that is, if the airline stays in business and continues to fly internationally.

Reference Links:
http://www.fcw.com/online/news/152938-1.html
http://www.dhs.gov/xtrvlsec/programs/editorial_0525.shtm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US-VISIT_(United_States_Visitor_and_Immigrant_Status_Indicator_Technology)
http://www.smartbrief.com/news/gtg/storyDetails.jsp?issueid=A917B6BE-4A3A-4AA2-8BA1-CC8DD722D6AB&copyid=3082D538-D0AE-403E-973B-C434F4C20BA3
http://federaltimes.com/index.php?S=3597239
http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?ID=19140
http://biometrics.gov/