Expedited security takes off in the United States

US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials recently announced that the agency is expanding its PreCheck trusted traveller programme, first unveiled in October 2011.

The move allows members of US Customs and Border Protection programmes including Global Entry, NEXUS, and SENTRI, along with eligible airline frequent flyers, the opportunity to use expedited screening, which in turn could improve the passenger experience.

It represents a change of course for the TSA. In the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attaches – when the TSA was created – there was a lot of chaos and confusion that led to record long lines at airports. Frequent flyers complained vociferously and called on Congress to create a trusted traveller programme. A small pilot programme was tested in five airports in early 2003, and because it was successful, TSA opened up a registered traveller (RT) programme to the private sector.

The first RT pilot was launched at Orlando International Airport in July 2005, with Verified Identity Pass’s Clear. Two other vendors – Vigilant Solutions and rtGo/FLO – soon followed. Under the programme, travellers would pay a yearly fee to have a background check that would give them a biometric card that allowed for faster access through security.

During the pilot, vendors collected biographical information from travellers and TSA vetted them for security threats. But when the 20-airport pilot programme ended in July 2008, TSA walked away, saying it had “transitioned to a business model offered by the private sector in partnership with airports and airlines”. It no longer collected travellers’ biometric information or did background checks, instead referring all RT questions to the three private companies operating the programme.

Then it appeared that TSA began chipping away at the benefits of RT. First the scanners that allowed customers to keep their coats and shoes on and laptops in their bags were taken away for testing in TSA’s research facility in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Next, the agency insisted that RT members show government-approved identification, rendering biometric cards useless.

Some airports started forcing Clear members to go to the back of security lines after being processed in their special line. TSA also said repeatedly that RT was not a priority, instead wanting to focus on technology and training that offered unpredictable layers of security. Clear shut down abruptly in June 2009, with its two competitors suspending operations soon after.

Under the free PreCheck programme that the TSA is now expanding, a TSA screener reads the barcode on a passenger’s boarding pass to see if they are eligible for expedited screening, which means they can keep shoes, belts and coats on and not have to remove 3-1-1 bags and laptop computers. But TSA will continue to use random and unpredictable security measures with no one guaranteed expedited screening.

So why did TSA finally relent about creating PreCheck? “There was finally a critical mass in favour of risk-based screening, including IATA, the US Travel Association, the Business Travel Coalition, and Airlines4America,” says Robert Poole, director of transportation policy at the Los Angeles-based Reason Foundation.

“[In] January [2011], the New York Times did a serious article on it, which also raised the visibility of trusted traveller. I give [TSA Administrator John] Pistole credit for being willing to change course on this issue.”

Poole, a frequent traveller himself, sees good and bad in PreCheck. “It’s better in that it actually reduces the screening hassle for those in the programme,” he says. “Not having to remove shoes or jacket, not having to remove laptop and liquids and not having to be body-scanned are all real benefits.”

However, PreCheck has two flaws that need correction, says Poole. “First, from a customer service standpoint, it should have exclusive PreCheck waiting lines, which would be shorter and faster than the premium-traveller lines used today,” he said. ‘That would give it a time-saving benefit close to that of the old Clear.”

Second, it needs to be beefed up, security-wise. Poole notes. “Rather than apparently relying only on travel history, the programme should require the same FBI background check used for airport employees who need access to secure areas,” he says. “Travellers should also have a biometric ID card (as Clear used) to prove that when a person shows up at the airport, he or she is the same person who was approved for membership.”

PreCheck is currently available for the following airlines and their respective airports: Delta Air Lines at Atlanta Hartsfield, Detroit Metro, Las Vegas McCarran, Minneapolis-St Paul International and Salt Lake City International; and American Airlines out of Dallas/Fort Worth, McCarran and Miami International.

By the end of the year, the programme will be in 28 airports, including Boston Logan, Houston Intercontinental, Chicago O’Hare and Washington National.