Los Angeles International Airport expanded a program that eases security screening for some passengers, it was announced Tuesday.
The Transportation Security Administration program — called TSA Pre — allows passengers who volunteer more information about themselves prior to airport arrival to get through the screening process without having to take off shoes, belts and jackets and removing laptops from bags.
If the passenger is eligible, information about them is embedded in the bar code of their boarding pass, which is scanned at designated checkpoints in the airport.
The newly opened application center — LAX’s third site — is located in Southwest Airlines’ Terminal 1 at the baggage claim level.
Passengers eligible for the program are typically frequent fliers or members of Customs and Border Protection Trusted Traveler programs such as Global Entry.
U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents should first pre-enroll online at tsa.gov before visiting one of the application centers to provide biographic information, fingerprints, valid required identity and citizenship/immigration documentation and an application fee of $85 for a five- year membership.
Once approved, travelers will receive a Known Traveler Number and will have the opportunity to utilize TSA Pre lanes at security checkpoints nationwide.
“The application process increases the availability of TSA Pre benefits to a broader population of travelers nationwide,” said TSA Administrator John S. Pistole. “TSA Pre is enabling us to move away from a one-size-fits-all approach to transportation security, as we look for more opportunities to provide the most effective security in the most efficient way.”
— City News Service