Patent ID: 7044371

Claim:
A method of monitoring passengers during boarding or disembarking from a passenger carrier, the method comprising: providing a passenger monitoring system at a gateway area for boarding or disembarking of a passenger carrier for a designated carrier event, the passenger monitoring system including a passenger data collecting device, an instruction input device, a video monitor display device and a data processor that is in communication with a remotely located central database containing stored carrier and passenger data for the carrier event; performing a monitoring system logon operation to allow selected access by an overseer to the central database from the monitoring system; selecting a carrier event to be monitored with the monitoring system; providing boarding and disembarking monitoring operation selection options with the monitoring system; selecting one of the boarding and disembarking monitoring operation selection options; collecting passenger boarding or disembarking data from at least one passenger with a single inquiry event for each at least one passenger at the gateway area for the selected carrier event with the passenger monitoring system; comparing the collected passenger data to the stored carrier and passenger data for the carrier event; and providing a comparison result on the display device of the passenger monitoring system based upon the compared collected and stored data, the comparison result including an indication of at least one of a validation status and a non-validation status to indicate to the overseer whether the at least one passenger is authorized for the selected carrier event, and optionally a prompt to check for passenger information for the at least one passenger, and further including displaying at least a passenger identifier for the at least one passenger and a total number of passengers having a validated status for the carrier event on the display device.