The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has signed up an additional 11 airlines for the TSA Precheck program, including prominent international airlines Emirates and Virgin Atlantic, as well as low-cost domestic carrier Spirit Airlines.
Precheck is a program created by the TSA to help frequent flyers speed through security checkpoints with shorter lines, and without removing shoes, laptops, liquids, belts, and light jackets. It’s available at more than 180 airports and now with 30 different airlines.
It’s a terrific program for anyone who flies even only a few times per year, as it makes obnoxious airport security checkpoints slightly more tolerable; the TSA has encouraged flyers to enroll in the program in order to reduce the size of lines at checkpoints. Earlier this year, long lines at TSA checkpoints caused dozens of delayed flights, and the authority in charge of airports around New York City threatened to dump the TSA and hire a private screening service instead. TSA screening times have improved significantly since then, however.
my TSA Precheck experiences have been uniformly excellent
In two years with TSA Precheck, my security checkpoint experiences have been uniformly excellent, something I couldn’t say previously. Consider this service journalism: if you fly more than once or twice a year, Precheck is worth every penny (and many premium credit cards will cover the cost).
A five-year TSA Precheck membership is $85 for US citizens and lawful permanent residents. Precheck is also included with the $100 Global Entry program, a Customs and Border Protection program, that also speeds processing through customs when returning to the US.
The full list of airlines participating in the program, as of January 2017, is below:
- Aeromexico
- Air Canada
- Alaska Airlines
- Allegiant Air
- American Airlines
- Aruba Airlines
- Avianca
- Boutique Airlines
- Cape Air
- Delta Air Lines
- Emirates
- Etihad Airways
- Frontier Airlines
- Hawaiian Airlines
- JetBlue Airways
- Key Lime Air
- Lufthansa
- Miami Air International
- OneJet
- Seaborne Airlines
- Southern Airways Express
- Southwest Airlines
- Spirit Airlines
- Sun Country Airlines
- Sunwing Airlines
- United Airlines
- Virgin America
- Virgin Atlantic
- WestJet
- Xtra Airways