AviationTSA expands PreCheck screening program to international airlines
The TSA is expanding its PreCheckscreening program to passengers on international airlines. Air Canada is the first international carrier to join the list of PreCheck carriers, which already includes several U.S. airlines.Some international airlines are reluctant to join the PreCheck carrier list because it entails upgrading their computer systems to print a PreCheck logo and embed PreCheck data in their boarding pass barcodes. With Air Canada joining the list, the TSA believes other foreign carriers with a large U.S. passenger base would benefit if they offered PreCheck status to their customers.
The TSA is expanding its PreCheckscreening program to passengers on international airlines. Air Canada is the first international carrier to join the list of PreCheck carriers, which includes Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, US Airways, and Virgin America. Passengers in PreCheck lanes can pass through standard metal detectors, not the full-body scanner, during security checks, with their shoes, belt, and light jackets on. They also are allowed to keep liquids and laptops in their bags.
“Since first being rolled out a few years ago by just a few select airlines in cooperation with the TSA — Delta Air Lines being the most notable example as a pioneer — other carriers have responded by also joining the program. That is now expanding even further as the TSA has cleared the way for some international airlines to participate in the program,” said Steve Loucks, chief communications officer for Travel Leaders Group,(TLG) a travel agency network group.
Huffington Post notes that as the number of passengers using the PreCheck service increase, the TSA can dedicate more staff to passengers who are considered to pose a higher security risk. TSA agents are able to process twice as many passengers in PreCheck lanes in the same time as in normal lanes.
PreCheck was lLaunched in October 2011 at four airports. It is now available in 118 of the 450 U.S. commercial airports. The program was initially open to frequent fliers of U.S. airlines and the 2.4 million travelers enrolled in one of the Customs and Border Protection’s expedited entry programs — Global Entry, Nexus, and Sentri. Last December, the TSA began to enroll people directly in the PreCheck program through stations at seventeen airports and 237 off-airport sites.
The TSA needs to have more travelers enrolled in the PreCheck program in order to justify having dedicated lanes at 118 airports. Recently, TSA agents have been inviting travelers to step out of normal security lines and into PreCheck lanes. Those passengers are randomly selected after confirmation from canine teams or behavior detection officers. The TSA believes that expanding the PreCheck program to foreign carriers will help recruit more passengers to PreCheck status. In a recent TLG poll of 2,700 travelers, 62 percent of participants were unable to identify whether the PreCheck program has made any significant difference in wait times for security screenings.
Some international airlines are reluctant to join the PreCheck carrier list because it entails upgrading their computer systems to print a PreCheck logo and embed PreCheck data in their boarding pass barcodes. With Air Canada joining the list, the TSA believes other foreign carriers with a large U.S. passenger base would benefit if they offered PreCheck status to their customers. Asked wheter travelers believe the PreCheck option contributes to safer air travel, Christie Kruchten, a travel consultant with TLG, told Homeland Security New Wire that “I do not necessarily think my clients believe it contributes to safer air travel, but they do find it is very convenient and lessens the amount of time to get through the security process. That is of great importance to my clientele.”
