Last week, I had a chance to discuss the “known-traveler” program with a TSA representative. Yes, finding a way to get some passengers on a fast track through security is on the front burner at TSA, but the specifics of the program from what line they will use to what benefits they will get are still to be determined.
Many reporters have happily written about the move towards the known-traveler program, but let’s get real. It is a long way from fruition and has a long way to go before it gets off the ground in any significant way. From who will be included and what security lane they will be allowed to use to what “hassles” passengers will be allowed to avoid, nothing is cast in stone.
Known-traveler is called “risk-based” screening by TSA. It operates more on intelligence rather than the one-size-fits-all approach used today. By allowing “trusted” travelers to go-ahead with fewer hassles, it allows TSA to focus on travelers who are less-trusted. Hopefully, the object is to weed out the terrorists and let the rest of the law-abiding Americans pass unmolested.
It’s not all that simple.
Let’s start with seems to be a simple issue — the security line. Guess who owns most of those lines? The airlines! Yes, the portion of the security lines from the beginning of the stanchions to the actual TSA officer checking IDs for the most part are under the airlines’ control.
And the airlines haven’t been overtly cooperative with TSA. The security agency still doesn’t have permission from the airlines or a blanket promise from the airlines that they will provide a separate lane for known traveler programs.
That is part of the reason that the known-traveler program will be including airline very frequent fliers. The airlines demand that they get some kind of compensation if they are going to give up their lines.
Yes, it would seem that passengers who have flown 50,000 miles over the past year would seem to be trustworthy, but even more so, these elite passengers will now be getting a new perk from the airlines by being able to bypass much of the TSA hassles.
The other categories of passengers who will be allowed to pass through TSA with less hassle may be passengers who have already provided a significant amount of personal data, such as Global Entry participants and those with government security clearances.
I can verify that the Global Entry members have not been contacted about this program. I have Global Entry. I love it. It makes getting back into the country a two-minute breeze after returning from abroad. I filled out an extensive questionnaire with personal information, similar to that given for a security clearance and after about two months was cleared for the program. Plus, I paid $100 for this privilege.
Rumors abound that Global Entry passengers and, perhaps, Nexus passengers with permission to cross the Canadian/U.S. border through special lanes, will be allowed to waltz through security, are just that at this point — rumors. Nothing has been decided.
Next, we discussed whether passengers with government security clearances would be allowed to pass through the TSA security apparatus with less hassles. The answer again, is, “Nobody knows, right now.”
Though it seems to be a no-brainer that an FBI agent with a top-secret clearance and the permission to carry a weapon aboard a plane might get a less-than-needle-in-a-haystack search, there is no such exemption. Plus, how much of a bonus to the country at large would exempting those with federal security clearances be? In the DC area, it would be huge, but it would be minimal in places like Chicago or Dallas or Vegas.
Now, we come to the part about which I was most curious. Just what hassles will travelers be able to avoid if they go through these new known-traveler lanes?
Let’s see, will known-travelers be able to leave their shoes on? Maybe? Then again, according to the latest murmurings from Secretary of Homeland Security, Napolitano, everyone may have that opportunity, soon. Will their baggage be allowed to pass without being X-rayed? Maybe, but probably not. Will know-travelers be able to avoid the whole-body scanners? Sometimes — but that is the same as today.
OK. After reading breathlessly about this new program and who may or may not be included, I have a big question. Just what are the real benefits of the known-traveler program, assuming it gets going after being run through bureaucratic hoops?
As travelers, what benefits would you expect from a program that may cost you $100-$150 a year other than a shorter line at the airport?
Photo: TSA by Leocha
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
