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If you’re following me on Twitter or Instagram then you know I was in San Francisco last week to attend a European travel conference. I flew up on American Airlines and I noticed that in both airports there were travelers in the TSA PreCheck line that had no clue what they were doing or how they got there. I later learned that the airlines and TSA are giving the special pre-clearance security to a bunch of travelers who aren’t frequent fliers or PreCheck members.
I actually noticed this same trend the week before when I took my dad to Vegas for his birthday and he was given the privilege himself and he’s neither a frequent traveler nor signed up to PreCheck. He’s 85 and not a security threat, but in San Francisco there were a couple of travelers in front of me in their late twenties who wouldn’t stop high-fiving each other for not having to take their shoes off or laptops or liquids out. I asked if they were PreCheck members or frequent travelers and they both said no. Then just a few minutes ago a friend of mine posted this photo above from LAX saying “And today I have never appreciated this more. Thank you TSA, I heart you and my 5 min security line while the airport is a messsss this AM.”
I’m not sure if what’s going on with PreCheck is good or bad—but what do you think?
Was TSA Pre-Approved – I had put my boarding pass into my purse (which was approved) and going thru the scanner…went thru the body scanner – they told me to take off my Skeetcher shoes….After going thru the scanner, i was frisked! What the heck!!!!
For these people that are supposed experts in security my mind is boggled. How does doing all these background checks and finger printings which are paid for get bypassed by random people who are let through that did jack?! That’s a major security flaw and disguising it under “random tripping up the terrorists” is ironic. Also isn’t it a denial of due process if I am denied on my application by something unreasonable and I cannot defend my case? I know it’s voluntary but I should have a right to know who and what is done with my personal information. It makes me sick that I have to pay for this broken system.
Please amend your article. The statement “I later learned that the airlines and TSA are giving the special..” is false. Airlines are told by TSA who is and is not eligible, the airlines are not making choices here.
Yes lately it’s been totally ridiculous, it appears every week the ‘Pre’ line is longer in Atlanta’s airport. This morning it was just as long as the standard line on the South(I went over to the North). I have Nexus/Global entry and while it’s valuable when I travel international, I had become dependent on it to save me time when getting to the airport; this however hasn’t been the case lately and this morning I almost missed my flight. So all in all, it’s not exactly ‘fair’ that they are letting those who didn’t pay use a service we pay for, even worst however (as many of you have noted) is the fact that these travelers often and usually diminish the quality of the service we are paying for because they have no clue of why they are in the line and what to do/not do. So they get a better free experience and we get a reduce service on something we are paying for.
Although I’m sure they(TSA) are aware of all of this, chances are they don’t give a darn!
I wonder how many of these comments are left by people licking their wounds in an airport bar.
I resent the “Special People” term. They didn’t charge $5000 for Pre. Save the Libertarian attitude. They charged $85, and in my case, an hour drive to Carson, CA. (Had to make an appt a month in advance, which by the way, holds no weight when you arrive. 12:00 appointment – got in at 12:45) Once in, appointment took 3 minutes (2:30 of which were spent running my credit card, and 30 seconds recording my biometrics). As far as the staff – think DMV, but more…fat, stupid, lazy.
I, much like many I am sure, spent the time to do this, not to become Special and superior, not to grin at those in the queue as we pass, but because we do it several times a week, every week, all year long. It was an investment of time spent on the front end to ultimately save time on the back end.
No one with any opinion worth listening to, will argue that TSA’s security “measures” do anything for actual security. If Pre can leave the laptop in the bag, guess what – they can see through EVERYONE’S laptop. If I can leave my shoes on, they can see through shoes.
Here’s the situation: it’s been over a decade. The TSA has imposed their theater on us, with every measure simply being reactive to already successful terrorist attacks. They know their measures don’t make a difference, and it’s time to save resources. Shoes, laptops, liquids – they slow everything down and cost money, so it’s time to cut back. BUT, like anything the government does, lets find a way to charge Americans for it. Why are you charging $85? This saves YOU, the TSA, money and resources! While true, lets try a different pitch: want to skip the gloved finger? For $85, you don’t have to deal with US anymore! Pretty good deal huh? Ridiculous.
Ultimately, this will be a thing of the past. TSA will be gone (it’s happening already.) Millions of the degenerates they hired will be back on unemployment, costing us money in different ways. Till then us Special People will have to come to terms with the fact that this was never in place to make our lives easier.
TSA Pre gets you through airport security faster – now you can sign up
directly.