The busiest travel days of the year are coming up and the Transportation Security Administration is highlighting a program that might make your travel more convenient at the airport. It is suggesting you sign-up for the TSA Pre-Check program.
Mark Howell is a TSA spokesperson from Washington and he visited the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport Monday morning.
“When you go through the program, you’re giving us (TSA) a little bit of information,” Howell said. “And we can make risk based decisions on screening. So it’s all driven off of intelligence that is given to us from the passengers.”
Howell said nationwide about 25 percent of airline passengers are in some sort of expedited screening program. That number is closer to 50 percent at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
Howell said it is important to point out that all passengers are being checked before getting on airplanes.
“You’re still going through a full screening,” Howell said. “You’re just using a different technology that’s making it a little bit quicker. And we’re deeming that doable because you’re giving us the info before.”
In a press release the agency said passengers who are eligible for TSA Pre-Check include U.S. citizens of frequent traveler programs invited by participating airlines. Additionally, U.S. citizens who are members of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Trusted Traveler program and Canadian citizens who are members of CBP’s NEXUS program qualify to participate. Later this year TSA will launch an application program, allowing more U.S. citizens to enroll in TSA Pre-Check.
TSA said in a release the agency will always incorporate random and unpredictable security measures throughout the airport. No individual will be guaranteed expedited screening.
