[Travelandtourism] Trusted travelers may be able to keep their shoes on

[cheryl echevarria]

This is an article from one of my travel magazines that I thought you all might be interested in what do you think?

Let's start some discussion on this.

Trusted travelers may be able to keep their shoes on
By Bill Poling
The Transportation Security Administration has briefed airline industry officials on a plan to operate an "identity-based" pilot program later this year that would provide "expedited screening" to trusted travelers. 

TSA did not offer a description of what "expedited" screening will mean in practice, but one knowledgeable aviation official said that the expedited lane could allow people to leave laptops in bags and forego the removal of shoes and belts. 

U.S. citizens who are members of the American and Delta frequent-flyer programs are expected to be among the first groups of individuals eligible to participate, along with members of Global Entry and similar programs that expedite the customs and immigration processing for U.S. inbound travel. 

American gateways Dallas-Fort Worth and Miami, and Delta hubs Atlanta and Detroit will be the initial sites. 

TSA said it plans to expand the pilot program to include other airlines and airports, specifically naming United, Southwest, JetBlue, US Airways, Alaska and Hawaiian. 

TSA Administrator John Pistole has said several times recently that he is interested in testing a "risk-based" component for the airport screening process. 

Pistole has described today's airport screening as a "one-size-fits-all" system that needlessly subjects all travelers to the same level of scrutiny. 

The Air Transport Association quickly issued a statement applauding the move. 

"We commend Administrator Pistole for his work in implementing risk-based, intelligence-driven programs that further enhance our security while improving the travel experience for all passengers," said ATA President Nicholas Calio. "Allowing TSA to focus its finite resources on that which creates the greatest threat is both good policy and good security." 

TSA emphasized that passengers in the pilot program will not get any guarantees. They may be eligible for expedited screening but "all passengers in this pilot are subject to recurrent security checks and random screening," TSA said. 

TSA said Pistole reiterated during the briefing that TSA will continue to incorporate "random and unpredictable security measures throughout the airport." 

TSA said the pilot will help it to develop "future risk-based, intelligence-driven security measures that would enable travelers to volunteer more information about themselves prior to flying." 

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