TSA Pre-Check Program Could Expedite Air Travel

It gets tedious for frequent flyers: Taking off your shoes, removing your jacket and unloading your laptop every time you could through airport screening.

A new program from the Transportation Security Administration is changing that.

It’s called the “Pre-check” program. Basically, frequent flyers who are accepted into the program are able to skip the regular TSA lines and go through a shorter screening process.

“It does take a lot of time to take off your shoes, take out the laptop, wait for other people to do the same,” said frequent flyer Kenya Herrera.

If you get into the program, that information is embedded in your boarding pass barcode. When it’s scanned, the TSA agent will direct you to the faster, TSA Pre-check lane.

Most frequent flyers NBC 7 talked to at Lindbergh Field Sunday said the program sounds like a good idea.

“Since I do travel a lot, I think it would be really convenient,” Herrera said.

“I have noticed that those TSA pre-screening lines are often shorter than the premiere lines,” Jennifer Smith said. “So I have definitely considered it.”

While these jetsetters are interested in speeding up the screening process, they say they’re still concerned about safety.

“It seems like a good idea to me, assuming that proper precautions are being taken and making sure that safety is the number one priority,” Smith said.

A final note: Just because you sign up for the program does not mean you’re guaranteed expedited screenings.

Click here for a list of participating airports and airlines.
 

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