Experience Shorter Lambert Airport Security Lines if you are a 'Low-Risk Traveler'
The Transportation Security Administration said Lambert-St. Louis International Airport is in a group of the next round of airports where travelers will be subject to PreCheck, an expedited security line.
File photo of passengers as they line up to a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer to go through an airport security.
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If you hate taking off your shoes, belt and just about anything else that can beep when going through the airport, this article may brighten your day.
Some frequent fliers and "low-risk" travelers may soon find an expedited security line waiting for them at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, as the Transportation Security Administration announced last week Lambert is one of the next groups of airports where travelers will be subject to TSA Pre✓(PreCheck).
PreCheck is a pre-screening initiative that allows eligible passengers to volunteer information about themselves to expedite their screening experience, according to TSA's website. Eligible passengers may be referred to the TSA PreCheck lane where they will undergo expedited screening, which could include being able to leave their shoes, light outerwear and belts on, allowing them to keep their laptops in their cases and 3-1-1 compliant liquids/gels bags in their carry-on.
Lambert should be on line with the program later this summer, according to STLtoday.com. Still, the map which updates new locations only shows four locations as of June 22 as "coming soon." Those are Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas.
PreCheck debuted in October of last year.
“As TSA moves further away from a one-size-fits-all approach, our ultimate goal is to provide the most effective security in the most efficient way possible,” said TSA Administrator John S. Pistole during the program launch. “By learning more about travelers through information they voluntarily provide, and combining that information with our other layers of security, we can focus more resources on higher-risk and unknown passengers."
So how is it going thus far?
One traveler described skipping the lines with one word: Amazing, according to The Washington Post.
"Eerie but amazing.
But for the first time in more than a decade, I effortlessly passed through security. There wasn’t even a line.
See, the government now considers me a “trusted traveler.”
As much as my mom might tell me I’m special, I’m really not. You too can get such fast-track status if you fly enough or are willing to spend $100."
Will you be spending $100 to get this "amazing" feeling?
Ashley Nevilles
7:10 am on Monday, July 9, 2012
If you can pay to get in the quick line it's not really about safety, it's about revenue. So I could be a terrorist and I could get to my flight quicker if I pay $100? Get out of here. Bad move.
Saul Blumenthal
7:58 am on Monday, July 9, 2012
"Eligible passengers may be referred to the TSA PreCheck lane where they will undergo expedited screening ...".
Or they may not. A passenger won't know till they flash their boarding pass whether they have been deemed worthy by the government.
PreCheck is nothing more than a government-sanctioned extortion "protection money" scheme.
Candace Jarrett
12:24 pm on Monday, July 9, 2012
I don't now Saul. Some would say it's way more convenient and worth paying for. It's my understanding that you have to go online in advance to enroll so there is a security process involved. Yes it will generate some money for the government but maybe it will go towards something positive. (Just playing Devil's Advocate.)
Saul Blumenthal
3:42 pm on Monday, July 9, 2012
Candace, the government is rewarding certain passengers who choose to patronize the same private companies (the airlines) over and over.
According to the PreCheck scheme, a passenger who flies 100,000 miles a year on Delta might be less of a risk than another passenger who flies 200,000 miles per year, but spread across many airlines.
Where's the logic in that?
In the mob world, this is called a protection money racket: "Give us $100 for a certain credential or spend a certain amount of money on one company's goods and you may (the key word being *may*) be entitled to less intrusive screening. Don't pay up and you will be treated as more of a threat."
Why's it any different when the government's doing it?
Candace Jarrett
6:35 pm on Monday, July 9, 2012
Saul, personally no I don't think it should be a paid service, but an offered benefit. I was just giving the opposing view for conversation purposes. You do have valid points.