Cheap airplane tickets and cheap vacation packages are a great way to travel, but long security lines can be frustrating. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has started testing special screening for military personnel at airport security checkpoints at a medium size California airport.
TSA is trying to determine if its technology is compatible with the Common Access Cards being carried by military personnel.
TSA wants to expand its risk based security initiative by identifying those groups of people that in all likelihood pose no security risk. To that end, TSA is working the Department of Defense to assess how it can read military ID cards.
Initially this experiment will not result in a quicker check-in process, but if successful should lead to streamlined screening procedures for the military. The desire is to expand military expedited security checks to airports that have a large number of military personnel traveling through them.
This test is part of Pre-Check, a TSA risk based program that expedites screening for registered travelers. Currently only frequent travelers on Delta Air Lines in Atlanta and Detroit and on American Airlines at Miami and Dallas/Fort Worth airports are able to participate.
Plans call for the program to be expanded to McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, and Los Angeles International Airport early in 2012. www.cheapfares.com