Air Travel Pre-Check Hits 2 Million Mark

Fewer of us are standing in line to take our shoes off at the nation's airports. 

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has screened more than 2 million travelers through its Pre-Check prescreening initiative. 

TSA Pre-Check is currently available for U.S. citizens traveling in the United States who are members of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Trusted Traveler programs and select frequent travelers of participating airlines at many of the busiest airports across the country. 

How it works 

The system allows passengers to volunteer information about themselves prior to traveling domestically to expedite their checkpoint screening at participating airports. It's all part of the agency's broader effort to implement risk-based concepts that enhance aviation security by focusing more on travelers the agency knows the least about and allowing known travelers the opportunity to expedite their travel through security checkpoints. 

"As TSA Pre-Check continues to expand to additional airports and passenger populations, we are seeing exponential growth in participation," said TSA Administrator John S. Pistole. "We are on track to bring TSA Pre-Check to 35 airports by the end of 2012 and even more next year." 

Pre-Check growing 

TSA Pre-Check is available at 19 airports and operational with five airlines, including Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and US Airways. TSA will continue to add more airports and airlines to the highly acclaimed program. 

Eligible passengers include U.S. citizens of frequent traveler programs on participating airlines and current members of CBP Trusted Traveler programs, including Global Entry, SENTRI and NEXUS. Individuals interested in participating can apply online. 

New screening concepts 

As part of its broader risk-based security effort, TSA is in the process of testing and implementing several new screening concepts, which include an expedited screening program for flight crews, expanded behavior detection techniques, modified screening procedures for travelers 12 and younger and 75 and older, and expanding TSA Pre-Check screening benefits to U.S. military active duty members. 

TSA will always incorporate random and unpredictable security measures throughout the airport, which means that no passenger is guaranteed expedited screening. The multi-layered approach to security also includes behavior detection officers, explosives-detection systems, canine teams, and federal air marshals, among other measures both seen and unseen.

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