TSA needs to removebarriers in PreCheck

The May 26 editorial page excerpt from The Washington Post (”TSA could cut airport waiting times”) stated that “one step the TSA could take: Enroll more people in the PreCheck program.”

Simple, right? HA!

I applied for the Global Entry pass which includes the PSA PreCheck. It costs $100. I also applied for passes for my wife and son - each must be a separate application.

This was done near the end of April. We have reservations to fly to Minnesota the last week of July. Three months should be enough lead time. Not so!

They instructed us to make an appointment to visit an enrollment center to provide fingerprints and verify ID. The closest enrollment site for us is at SeaTac airport. The first open appointment date was September 9; over four months from application and after our planned flight.

But that trip will not result in a pass; they must still check the fingerprints do a background review. How long will that take? I called the SeaTac enrollment center to see if an earlier date was possible? No!

I’ll be 86 when we get the passes and I’ll be 91 when it expires. So, could we change our minds and withdraw our application? Sure, but we cannot get back our $300.

The time line is nowhere revealed in the materials describing the programs.

The editorial excerpt said “TSA wants to enroll more people …” If so, they will need to overcome some of the barriers travelers must overcome to get the passes.

This story was originally published June 3, 2016 at 8:58 AM with the headline "TSA needs to removebarriers in PreCheck."