Letter to John Kerry, Secreatary of the Department of State and Jeh Johson, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security - Airline Security Answers after Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight

Letter

Dear Secretaries Johnson and Kerry:

We write with great concern regarding the security loophole highlighted by the ongoing incident involving Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 ("Flight 370").

While we are still awaiting details on what happened to Flight 370, we do know that two individuals, Delavar Seyed Mohammad Reza and Pouri Nourmohammadi, were able to board an international flight carrying American passengers by using stolen passports. While these passports were in the Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database of INTERPOL, they were not cross referenced against it by either the airline or the appropriate authorities. This dramatically illustrates a serious flaw in airline security, one that INTERPOL has raised for years, but has not been appropriately dealt with by the international community.

While many countries, including the United States, routinely access the SLTD database, many others do not. In fact, according to INTERPOL, passengers boarded airplanes more than one billion times in 2012 without having their passports screened against its databases. Allowing people to use stolen passports to travel about the world puts lives, including those of Americans, at risk.

It is imperative for passenger safety and aviation security that we close this loophole to help ensure the safety of the traveling public. Beyond assuring us, our colleagues, and the American people, that every passport used in international travel to and from the United States is always checked against the INTERPOL SLTD database, we further request details on any type of program or ongoing negotiations encouraging other countries to use this database for all travelers on international flights.

While we understand that the United States is limited in its ability to alter other nation's travel and security procedures, if there are ways that Congress can get involved in encouraging responsible behavior that increases the safety of the global flying public, we hope that you will let us know.

We look forward to your prompt response. Thank you.