Airlines tell Trump they refuse to pay 'astronomical' cost of surveilling foreign travelers with cameras

According to the Wall Street Journal, Homeland Security's plan to track foreigners using cameras on passengers boarding international flights is facing resistance from airlines who don't want to shoulder the costs.

The government wants this technology, which they spent more than 20 years developing, to be paid for and operated by airlines because the cost of staffing border agents at every international airport would be "astronomical." The airlines, however, have no interest in this "national security function" and don't believe they should pay for it.

"Right now, there is no benefit to us," an airline official told the Journal. "We’re not interested in adding another 10 minutes to the boarding process."

Known as "exit-tracking," the system would include cameras that biometrically track the faces of passengers boarding international flights. It's been underway in Congress for twenty-plus years, and a recent executive order by President Donald Trump mandated that the system move forward.

Read the entire report on the flight industry's refusal to pay for face-tracking cameras via the Wall Street Journal.