WASHINGTON–Waiting in line at airport checkpoints could be a thing of the past for some select frequent flyers.
The Transportation Security Administration will be testing a prescreening program this fall to a group of select air travelers who will voluntarily provide personal information in exchange for expedited screening. This pilot program signifies TSA’s latest efforts in incorporating identity-based screenings as opposed to the physical screenings that are currently in place to measure security.
Hillary Stroud, from TSA’s office of strategic communications and public affairs said, “If we can confirm a person’s identity and learn a little more about them through information they opt to provide, and combine that information with our other layers of security, we should be able to expedite the physical screening for many people.” The new screening procedure will focus on higher-risk and unknown passengers while speeding up the progress for lower-risk and known travellers.
During the testing period this fall, TSA will make pre-screening assessments on passengers who are US citizens, along with certain members of Custom and Border Protection Trusted Traveler programs.
“I would certainly much rather have identity-based screening,” said Charlie Leocha, director of the Consumer Travel Alliance, a consumer advocacy group. “I’m a member of Global Entry and I’ve filled out a background form, they’ve taken my picture, they’ve taken my fingerprints and so when I travel outside of the country I can come back into the country through the immigration process and it takes me about two minutes.”
“I think that if more people were dealt with that way, it would be much better for TSA because they would be able to deploy their assets in a much more logical manner,” Leocha said.
At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County airports, frequent flyers from Delta Air Lines will be qualified to participate. In addition, passengers in Miami International and Dallas Fort Worth International airports flying from American Airlines will also be eligible to participate in the pilot program.
If a traveller is qualified for expedited screening based on a background check information will be embedded in the barcode of their boarding pass. At the checkpoint, TSA will read the barcode where the passenger may be directed to a designated lane for expedited screening so that they can avoid taking their shoes off and taking out their laptops.
“It willsignificantly change the travel experience for the trusted travellers,” Leocha said. “So they’ll go through a different system which will be less invasive. However, it will also change the program for the normal public because it’s going to eliminate probably around 15 percent of the people who have to be screened and therefore will also be able to have a much more efficient screening process and a faster screening process at the airports.”
After a string of incidents highlighting the controversies involved with pat-downs and TSA screeners, the new program may help to alleviate frustrations among frequent flyers.
“We already do watch list matching by pre-screening passenger information, and that gives us more information than we had before – information that can help us determine where potential risks might be,” Stroud said. “We have better technology that improves detection of threats to aviation. Our Intel is better, and so is our ability to operationalize it. Focusing our efforts on the people we know nothing about and the high-risk passengers results in a better experience for everyone.”
