31 JUL 2018: A TSA programme called ‘Quiet Skies’ has been in operation since 2010. It involves Federal air marshals surreptitiously monitoring small numbers of air passengers in the US and reporting on in-flight behavior considered suspicious – even if those individuals have no known terrorism links, the Transportation Security Administration admitted on Sunday.

The programme identifies passengers who raise flags as they fly between American destinations, and have them observed by marshals, because of travel histories or other factors such as being ‘abnormally aware’ of surroundings – (I’m not sure what abnormal awareness entails) and/or exhibiting behavioral indicators such as excessive fidgeting, heavy sweating, rapid eye blinking, rubbing or wringing of hands, or frequent use of the restroom.

The Boston Globe revealed the existence of the Quiet Skies programme over the weekend and in response to questions, TSA spokesman James Gregory provided more details and compared it to law enforcement activities that have officers closely monitor individuals or areas vulnerable to crime.

“We are no different than the cop on the corner who is placed there because there is an increased possibility that something might happen,” Gregory said. “When you’re in a tube at 30,000 feet … it makes sense to put someone there.”

The TSA declined to provide complete information on how individuals are selected for Quiet Skies or how the programme works.

According to the TSA, travel records and other information are used to identify passengers who will be subject to additional checks at airports and observed in flight by air marshals who report on their activities to the agency.

However, it has been reported that passengers may be selected for Quiet Skies screening because of their affiliation with someone on the government’s no-fly list or other databases aimed at preventing terrorist attacks.

The programme raises questions about the privacy of ordinary Americans as they go about routine travel within the US, and while Gregory said the programme did not single out passengers based on race or religion and should not be considered surveillance, because the agency does not, for example, listen to passengers’ calls or follow flagged individuals around outside airports, one then has to wonder how, why and which passengers get tapped for additional scrutiny.

The answer makes little sense.

Apparently during in-flight observation of people who are tagged as Quiet Skies passengers, marshals use an agency checklist to record passenger behavior:

Did he or she sleep during the flight?
Did he or she use a cellphone?
Look around erratically?

“The programme analyzes information on a passenger’s travel patterns while taking the whole picture into account,” Gregory said, adding “an additional line of defense to aviation security.”

“If that person does all that stuff, and the airplane lands safely and they move on, the behavior will be noted, but they will not be approached or apprehended,” Gregory said.

But questions remain:

Who points the finger at the passenger?

When is the passenger identified as a potential ‘Quiet Skies’ watchee?

If the passenger pees three times between New York and Miami, does that qualify – and given they’re already on board, how does the marshal know in advance they need watching?

Is sleeping on the flight good or bad? (Presumably good, but who knows?)

Is a sweaty woman a nervous flyer, a guilty would-be terrorist, or menopausal?

Is that a gun in his pocket or is he just another wanker on a plane – and aren’t they far too frequent these days?

Hugh Handeyside, senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project, called on the TSA to provide more information about the program to passengers.

“Such surveillance not only makes no sense, it is a big waste of taxpayer money and raises a number of constitutional questions,” he said.

“These concerns and the need for transparency are all the more acute because of TSA’s track record of using unreliable and unscientific techniques to screen and monitor travellers who have done nothing wrong.”

The TSA, which was created soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, screens on average more than 2 million passengers a day.

The TSA official would not divulge more details but said individuals are not targeted based on race or nationality, neither would officials say whether any terrorist plots have been prevented because of the programme.