How To Find Out If The TSA PreCheck Lane Will Be Open When You Travel

If you’ve been following my advice for years, then you know that one of my best travel tips for speeding through U.S. airports is to get TSA PreCheck; it’s $78 for five years. The Trusted Traveler program began in 2011 and is run by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and allows selected members of certain frequent flyer programs, Global Entry, NEXUS, and SENTRI, as well as members of the US military, to receive expedited screening. RELATED: What to Do if TSA PreCheck Isn’t Printed on Your Boarding Pass

That means no taking off shoes, belts, light jackets or removing laptops and liquids from bags. There are usually dedicated lanes available at more than 200 airports with 90+ participating airlines nationwide.

RELATED: The App All Travelers Need to Download

The pandemic did a number on the TSA, and they laid off a lot of workers when hardly anyone was traveling, but travel has bounced back in a big way. They’ve hired back more workers and now almost every single day sees more travelers passing through airport security checkpoints than pre-pandemic, including this past Sunday when TSA screened 2,711,150 people. In 2019, that number was just 2,486,948.

But even before the pandemic, it was always super frustrating when you showed up to an airport and the TSA PreCheck line was either closed or the airport or terminal didn’t even have one.

So, before you head to the airport, I suggest logging on to the TSA PreCheck Checkpoint Schedule to see if your airport and terminal have a TSA PreCheck lane and if it’s open or not during the time you will be passing through. If it’s not, you should allow for more time.

My family and I travel often and having TSA PreCheck usually makes a huge difference especially when we get stuck in traffic. And if you really want to speed through security, get CLEAR, which you can learn more about here. But I think it’s only worth it for those who travel often and lately, I’ve seen the CLEAR line longer than the TSA PreCheck line so I just bypass it.

Also, I recommend not paying for TSA PreCheck but instead, getting one of the other Trusted Traveler Programs like Global Entry as it costs just $22 more and includes TSA Pre but also allows travelers to zip through U.S. Customs and Immigration when returning home. Keep in mind certain premium credit cards will cover the $100 fee.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on June 20, 2021. It has since been updated.

KEEP READING
–How To Make Sure the TSA PreCheck Checkmark is On Your Boarding Pass
–Did You Know Your Electronic Devices Should Always Be Charged When Going Through Security?
–10 Airport Security Hacks Every Traveler Needs to Know
–Mom Shares Hilarious Reason She’s Not Getting TSA PreCheck Anytime Soon
–How to Get a Full Bottle of Water Through Airport Security

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