Travel Alert: TSA Ends Free Inclusion to Airport PreCheck Lanes

If you’ve been enjoying free inclusion to the airport PreCheck lanes, the TSA wants you to know that the party’s over.

Here’s the scoop from ASTA:

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has confirmed to ASTA that effective September 14 it phased out its “Managed Inclusion” program that permits members of the public to use the PreCheck lanes at airports without being a paid member of the program or another trusted traveler program.

In June of this year, the TSA indicated the program would be phased out given security concerns. ASTA advises member agents to consider warning impacted customers accustomed to using the PreCheck lanes that they will no longer be able to without enrolling in the program if they have not done so already.

Specifically, TSA recommends that travelers who want to keep receiving TSA PreCheck on a consistent basis enroll in one of the four trusted traveler programs offered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security:

• TSA PreCheck application program: There are more than 330 application centers nationwide Find a location near you
• Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Global Entry
• CBP’s NEXUS (Canada)
• CBP’s SENTRI (Mexico)

To learn more about these programs, and to view a comparison chart of the benefits, visit www.dhs.gov/tt.

Q&As developed by TSA’s Public Affairs office can be viewed here.

If you’re a frequent airline traveler, we highly recommend that you enroll in one of these programs.  Carol and I have been members of the Global Entry Program for years, and we really enjoy the benefits of a speedy journey through the airports.

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