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TSA explains confusion over PreCheck policies

TSA still allows some non-members of PreCheck to use the expedited screening lanes if they pass the "sniff test." (Image: TSA)

TSA still allows some non-members of PreCheck to use the expedited screening lanes if they pass the “sniff test.” (Image: TSA)

A few days ago, we ran an item citing news reports which said that the Transportation Security Administration was no longer allowing passengers to be screened in the expedited PreCheck lanes if they are not members of that program, which requires a personal interview and payment of an $85 fee.

That item attracted comments from a number of readers, some of whom said that they were not members of PreCheck, but they were still being sent to the PreCheck lanes for screening — a practice the TSA calls “managed inclusion.” TSA started that practice many months ago to even out the inspection loads between PreCheck and non-PreCheck lanes.

So what’s going on here? Are non-members still going through PreCheck lanes or not?

“The confusion lies in the fact that we ended Managed Inclusion 2, but have left Managed Inclusion 1 in place,” TSA spokesman Mike Englund tells TravelSkills. (See full statement below)

In Managed Inclusion 1 — which remains in effect — PreCheck screening is available for “certain travelers who have been pre-screened by TSA canines,” Englund said. In other words, if a dog’s nose finds you acceptable, you might be selected for the fast inspection even if you are not an enrolled member of PreCheck and don’t have a known traveler number. (It only applies, obviously, in airports where TSA dogs are on duty.)

 

Managed Inclusion 2, he explained, was a program in which TSA relied on “behavior detection officers and explosive trace detection sampling” to direct certain passengers into the PreCheck lanes even if they weren’t paid members.

Englund told us: “Overall, the agency is now moving toward offering TSA PreCheck expedited screening only to trusted and pre-vetted travelers enrolled in the TSA PreCheck program, and is working with a number or partners to expand enrollment in program.” He did not say how long it might be until PreCheck screenings are limited only to paid members.

So while there won’t be as many non-members in PreCheck lines, there will still be some. 

Here’s the full statement on this matter from TSA:

“TSA routinely evaluates the effectiveness of airport checkpoint screening procedures at all U.S. airports to ensure the security of travelers. TSA has recently eliminated the practice of utilizing behavior detection officers and explosive trace detection sampling to direct certain passengers into TSA Pre✓® expedited screening lanes, a practice known as “Managed Inclusion II.”  TSA will also continue to offer expedited screening to certain travelers who have been pre-screened by TSA canines, a practice known as “Managed Inclusion I.” Overall, the agency is now moving toward offering TSA Pre✓® expedited screening only to trusted and pre-vetted travelers enrolled in the TSA Pre✓® program, and is working with a number or partners to expand enrollment in program. Aviation security employs multiple layers, both seen and unseen, to ensure the safety of the traveling public, and TSA constantly tests and challenges this system in order to enhance capabilities and improve techniques as threats evolve.”

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: TSA PreCheck: No more free rides + Plight of the tall traveler + Photos: New United first class seat + Save money on calls from other countries + 6 secrets for snagging low fares

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Comments

  1. Connecticut has no office to go to for the interview. They need to have at least one in EVERY state, Who wants to drive 2 hours to Boston to pay for a $100.00 precheck? I heard it was $100.00. I paid nothing as I filed a complaint and the redress number came in a letter saying I was :no longer flagged.:” 18 months it took to get investigated so I should be vetted, even though there was no fee at that time.

  2. Our family got split up and I was in a wheelchair going through the PRECHECK with nobody to push me. I had to hobble with my cane, and take off my shoes because BRADLEY AIRPORT in HARTFORD CT had nobody on duty at 5AM to push me. IS that not an ADA violation especially if I made it clear when I booked the flights? Even when you do everything in advance, it does not mean you will have clear sailing.

  3. It’s so confusing. I have Global Entry and have NOT received TSA precheck, but my non-member wife gets it almost all of the time. We flew Virgin America from Ft. Lauderdale, first class. They tried to make go through the regular line. WTF?

  4. Can you cite the official source of these standards? TSA is not running criminal background checks when people book tickets; unless you’ve become a trusted traveler or applied for TSE pre they do not know your criminal history.

  5. Children under 12, and Most Adults over 75, get pre-check because they are considered low threat. Also, it seems, people with no criminal histories, and established US residency and employment get this once in a while when they fly.

  6. You may be thinking of the first class privilege to go through an expedited security line. Regular security procedure, but you don’t wait your turn. This depends on the airline & airport as to whether they have a priority line set up though.

  7. I find this SUPER confusing. I’m a KTN-holding PreCheck member and I traveled with my mom recently. I expected to have to go through the regular line with her, but nope, she had PreCheck too. She said it’s on all her tickets and has been for a while now. I don’t understand as she’s not a frequent flier, so it’s not a status perk. She doesn’t have a KTN yet she routinely gets it on her tickets, which belies the “random’ or situational inclusion explanations that I’ve heard. I have to type in my KTN every time, how does hers just magically follow her around no matter who books the ticket? Not that anyone is surprised the TSA is a joke but it’s frustrating to have it rubbed in your face.

  8. Their explanation is wrong. I was just approved for precheck after having some issues with them. Even after they supposedly discontinued the managed inclusion, I was getting it on my boarding passes when I checked in from home. They have absolutely no idea what they’re doing.

  9. i was granted tsa precheck on my united airlines flight and i was pulled out and had my carry on torn apart and stuffed back at random they even asked me what was in my sandwiches and i am a gimpy 65 year old WTFUCKKKKKKKK

  10. TSA just doesn’t want to admit that they have little control over who gets on planes and how secure it is. Numerous times I have been in a PreCheck line where RANDOM citizens get shuffled over to even the lines. Much less secure in my opinion. All who buy credentials agree to a background check, fingerprints and other secure measures.

  11. Contact TSA. Ask for a Passenger Support Specialist. TSA, I believe, will contact the particular airport and make arriangements for assisting those who need it.

  12. NO. Precheck screening IS NOT A RIGHT. It is a paid “limited privilege”. There is NO GUARANTEE for Precheck even with a Known Traveler Number (KTN).

  13. Good luck when your luck runs out and you find yourself in the regular lines. The reason they are doing it is because they don’t want to give this to you for free, they want you to pay for it. The $85 fee is well worth the money, unless you only fly once a year.

  14. Why I should have to pay an $85 membership fee for PreCheck if I’ve already been chosen for that perk in the past?
    I’ve enjoyed PreCheck several times on short flights within CA, and if I’m considered safe, the TSA should make my PreCheck status permanent.

  15. You’re lucky. On US Airways/American the opt-ins are getting stiffed most of the time now. I complain regularly, but it does no good. What’s worse is that often you have to connect from American to US Airways or vice versa and sometimes the second boarding pass has preCheck but the first does not, so you get groped anyway.

  16. You can add in the folks who, like me, were pre-vetted when the program first started several years ago due to their elite status on an airline, and still continue to get pre-check. I’ve only missed it twice on Delta flights in the last two years. However, if I’m on non-Delta flights I don’t get it, so I’ve now signed up and paid my money.

  17. Just returned from a trek to SFO with a buddy who was upgraded because of my status. He has no KTN nor even a FF account, but he got Pre on all four segments. And he’s a Millennial, not a Boomer or older.

  18. You have to make sure your global entry number is associated with your reservation. If you have the number in your airline account, and then say buy a ticket through orbitz, you won’t get pre check unless you add that reservation to your airline account. Likewise say you bought a ticket on Alaska and its operated by American at check in, they won’t have your TSA number. You should just call the airline you will fly on before you leave and make sure they have your TSA number associated with your reservation. Also, pre check only works with American-based airlines, and air Canada.

  19. I have Global Entry so does my husband. I queried why we are not always pre TSA and was told it is completely random. The program is great when coming into the country from abroad which I understand was the reason for it’s implementation.

  20. Seems to me like TSA Pre lines are a lot shorter these days. I just went through security at LAS McCarran at 5:45am this morning and the TSA Pre line had 2 people. The regular line was backed up horribly with lots of angry passengers glowering at me and wondering why I was so special.

  21. Reason, my 87 year old dad is flying from L.A. to D.C. for Thanksgiving. Since he never flys and hates going through security lines I was thinking a first class ticket would give him precheck, but I guess that’s not the case.

  23. If you are a bad guy and you buy 1st class, you get pre-check. Sorry, not good logic or security there. Nope. Pretty sure they have never given it to 1st class.

  25. My question still hasn’t been answered, if you fly first class on United do you still get pre-check???

  26. 2 trips ago out of PHX I actually saw one of these dogs in action. Dog alerted on a pax, but then the pax walked away while the human played w/the dog & congratulated it on the hit. Maybe it was a test for the dog, but if so, wrong place to do it since it clearly gave the impression that the handler wasn’t interested in what the dog allegedly smelled. More window dressing from an agency that excels in it, I guess!

  27. When do these canines have time to sniff you before Pre-Check is printed on your boarding pass by a ticketing agent? 😀

    Or is this referring to someone already standing in the TSA line and get’s pulled into the PreCheck lane after a dog is there to do a check? Sounds like a dumb question, but I’ve never seen any said canines at any US airport I’ve traveled from this year.

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