http://www.usatoday.com/news/washdc/ncs17.htm 07/10/97 - 08:26 AM ET Airlines to start profiling, bag matching New security measures for domestic flights, combining limited bag matching with a controversial computerized profiling system, will be operating by Dec. 31, Federal Aviation Administration officials said Wednesday. But the proposal, scaled down from what a presidential commission recommended in September, immediately drew fire from airline safety and civil rights proponents. The FAA will require that "first, passengers are profiled and selected bags are searched or matched," said Bruce Butterworth, director of civil aviation security operations, in an interview with USA TODAY. Airlines are expected to match bags with about 5% of fliers. A computerized profiling system will identify those who might pose a security risk. Example: passengers who buy tickets with cash. If someone matches the profile, their bags would not be stowed until they actually board the plane. Total bag matching is routine on international flights. But American Airlines executive vice president Robert Baker says he doubts that the Dec. 31 deadline will be met because airlines are still developing a profiling system. "We'll be lucky to have this in place by next year," he says. The FAA says it was encouraged that a test of bag matching in May at 12 U.S. airports didn't cause massive delays. Proponents of 100% bag matching say the FAA caved into the airlines' demands. "This weakens the whole idea of bag matching. It's about time the FAA decides whether it's on the side of profits for the airlines or on the side of safety," says Susan Cohen, whose daughter was killed by the terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988. The presidential commission had proposed that every passenger be matched with every bag on all domestic flights. But after the airlines objected, fearing massive delays, it agreed to a combination of profiling and limited matching. Others say profiling may discriminate against some ethnic groups. "Passengers should not have to give up essential liberties just to get on planes," says the ACLU's Gregory Nojeim. By Donna Rosato, USA TODAY