The US Transportation Security Administration is expanding its PreCheck expedited screening program to passengers on international airlines.
Air Canada today became the first international carrier to participate, with TSA officials saying other foreign airlines would soon sign on.
Airlines need to first update their computer systems to embed extra information in their boarding pass barcodes as well as printing a PreCheck logo.
Passengers in PreCheck lanes get to leave on their shoes, belt, and light jackets, keep liquids and laptops in their bags and use a standard metal detector, not the full-body scanners. Security agents can process twice as many passengers in PreCheck lanes in the same time as in a normal lane.
That allows the agency to dedicate more staff to other passengers those who theoretically pose the higher risk. The program was launched in October 2011 at four airports.
Today, there are PreCheck lanes at 118 of the roughly 450 US commercial airports. About 5 million of the 14 million passengers who fly each week receive expedited screening.
The program is open to some elite frequent fliers of US airlines as well as the 2.4 million travelers enrolled in one of the Customs and Border Protection's expedited entry programs: Global Entry, Nexus and Sentri.
The TSA has also started enrolling people directly in PreCheck through its own centers at 17 airports and 237 off-airport locations. Since it opened the application process in December, nearly 204,000 people have enrolled in the program which costs USD 85 and is good for five years.
