U.S. to Order Full Names on Jet Passenger Lists

The Transportation Department said Thursday that beginning next fall, airlines must collect the full names of all passengers traveling on international flights and be prepared to make a passenger manifest available within three hours of a crash.

The rule is intended to mitigate surviving families’ agonizing wait for information after crashes, which became a major issue after the 1988 bombing of Pan American Flight 103 in Scotland and the fuel tank explosion of Trans World Airlines Flight 800 off Long Island in 1996.

The rule was one of several DOT actions Thursday, the first anniversary of the report of Vice President Al Gore’s White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security. Such a rule was required by the Aviation Security Improvement Act of 1990 and was recommended by the DOT Task Force on Assistance to Families of Aviation Disasters.

Under the rule, all U.S. and foreign airlines that fly international routes from the United States would have until July 1 to file an action plan and must begin collecting the information by Oct. 1. The manifest must contain full names, and airlines must ask for a name and phone number of a person to contact in case of disaster.

Airlines keep manifests now but are not required to release them or to ask for contact numbers.

However, passengers could refuse to give contact names and numbers because making that provision mandatory “could result in conflicts at airport gates if airline personnel were required to deny boarding if a passenger did not provide the information.”

Also Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration released the final rule requiring fire detection and suppression systems in airliner cargo holds.