Customs and Border Protection’s Global Entry kiosks speed up the arrivals process. (Image: CBP)
There’s already considerable overlap between membership in the Transportation Security Administration’s PreCheck program and Customs and Border Protection’s Global Entry. So does it make sense to keep operating the programs separately?
That’s what the federal government is starting to wonder.
According to recent press reports, TSA chief David Pekoske said in an appearance before airport executives that he and CBP Acting Commissioner Kevin McAleenan are taking a “good hard look” at merging the two trusted traveler programs.
Pekoske said that the two agencies could make passenger processing much more efficient by combining their separate enrollment infrastructures, which currently represent ”a big duplication of efforts.”
Currently, members of CBP’s Global Entry program are afforded expedited security inspections for domestic trips as automatic participants in TSA PreCheck, but PreCheck members do not have reciprocal Global Entry privileges.
Together, the two programs have about 12 million current members. A combined trusted traveler program could also save money for participants: The five-year fee to join CBP’s Global Entry – which speeds up the arrivals process for international travelers – is $100, while PreCheck costs $85 for a five-year membership.
The TSA chief said that combining the two programs would also make sense in adopting new security-related biometric technologies like the facial recognition effort that CBP is testing for Global Entry.
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