KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Kansas City International Airport will be one of 60 U.S. airports to install a screening program designed to allow some passengers to pass through security checks more quickly, federal transportation officials announced.
The Transportation Security Agency announced this week that its PreCheck expedited screening program will be installed at KCI, beginning Oct. 1. Airport officials said Thursday the program will begin only in Terminal B and that no decision has been made on whether it will be expanded to the airport's other two terminals, The Kansas City Star reported (http://bit.ly/17EhrGg ).
The program has been tested at 40 other airports including Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.
Expedited screening allows passengers who meet certain qualifications to avoid removing shoes, belts and light outerwear such as jackets. Laptops and quart-sized plastic bags holding gels, liquids and aerosols would not have to be removed from luggage.
Delta Air Lines plans to begin using the system in October and Southwest Airlines will use it starting in November.
"TSA has worked hard to develop an approach that eases the security burden for some of KCI's outbound travelers," said Joe McBride, spokesman for the Kansas City Aviation Department. "Unfortunately, KCI's three terminal configuration and narrow concourses does not allow for TSA PreCheck across all terminals at this time."
Travelers who want to be part of the program must be U.S. citizens, members of a frequent-flyer program and be invited by a participating airline. Members of a Customs and Border Protection Trusted Traveler program can also join.
Later this year, the TSA will expand the program to travelers willing to fill out an online application, pay an $85 fee for five-year eligibility, and verify identity and provide fingerprints at a TSA PreCheck enrollment center. Those who qualify get a "known traveler number," which provides an embedded barcode in boarding passes. When the pass is scanned, a passenger is referred to a TSA PreCheck lane.