Atlanta Airport Offering New Screening Program

“It helps us in the TSA to get away from the ‘one size fits all’ approach that was set up after 9-11, when TSA was created, to a risk-based, intelligence-generated approach,” says TSA Administrator John Pistole.

U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents are now able to register a basic bio profile with the government.

After the information, including birth-date and fingerprints, is confirmed and approved, these people are designated as “trusted passengers” and, after a paying a fee, are eligible to bypass the usual screening process.

An audio version of this story.

“You keep your shoes on, you keep your belt on, you keep your light jacket on, you keep your small liquid aerosol gels and a laptop computers in your bags.  You don’t have to take those out, so it’s a much quicker process to go through than the traditional screening,” says Pistole.

Atlanta resident Brenda McCaig says she’ll take a look at the program, because she doesn’t like removing her shoes at checkpoints.

“It takes too long to get them back on, you know, you’re in a hurry to move on through.  So yes, I’d be interested in that,” she says.

So far the program is being offered at 114 airports.

More information is posted on the TSA’s website.