Travelers can help ensure a safe and secure holiday travel season by following simple tips to keep passenger traffic moving safely and smoothly through our nation’s airports and seaports, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told attendees at a media briefing today.
Simple steps such as wearing the right shoes, having your ID ready, and following the 3-1-1 rule were among the tips that can help facilitate a smooth security screening process through the airports, Sec. Napolitano said.
The secretary also said that TSA’s new Secure Flight program is now being implemented with airlines to fulfill a 9/11 Commission recommendation. Secure Flight prescreens passenger name, date of birth and gender against government watch lists for domestic and international flights, making travel safer and easier by keeping known or suspected terrorists from obtaining a boarding pass, she said.
Safe traveling “is a shared responsibility,” the secretary said, adding that “part of safe traveling is the ability to stay healthy.”
With that, the secretary introduced Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Schuchat unveiled the CDC’s Travelers’ Health public awareness campaign on how to stay healthy during the flu season. The campaign comprising posters at airports and seaports; media buys in radio and television outlets; and social media activities; centers on four key messages:
• Travel only when you feel well
• Get your flu vaccine
• Wash your hands often
• Cover your coughs and sneezes
The CDC campaign will run throughout the 2009-2010 flu season.