"The goal is to get that [alert] to TSA officers within minutes," said Gale Rossides, a TSA associate administrator. Screeners "meet so many children every day, they may actually notice something that's out of character with a child."

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TSA airport security directors will receive the notices and distribute photos and written descriptions of the child and potential abductor to airport and airline officials, as well as to the airport's screeners.

"The entire airport community will be on the lookout for the child and the abductor," Allen said.

Don Thomas, a screener at Orlando International Airport, said the alerts could help security overall by encouraging screeners to look more closely at passengers. "Sometimes we get complacent," said Thomas, who is president of a small screeners' union. "This will put us more on alert."