News that TSA will begin limiting access to PreCheck lanes to those who have paid for the appropriate background checks is good news!! In a New York Times article today, Joe Sharkey noted that TSA chief John Pistole said that of all domestic travelers, “now we’re around 45 percent” for those receiving PreCheck. Honestly, I had no idea it was that high. While the number of PreCheck passengers has increased noticeably, I just didn’t envision the number being that high. Of course, I would assume that’s an average across the system. On frequent trips to Raleigh, I find the PreCheck lane under-subscribed (granted, usually on weekends), while Atlanta always seems to be busy, even if more tolerable on certain days than let’s say….Monday morning.

Overall, I continue to be pleased with TSA PreCheck, even if it is a bit less exclusive than it once was. Given the amount of electronics I travel with, some personal, some business, and some medically necessary, the standard security regime as it is currently constructed has (had) become a challenge for me. Even with longer lines at times, PreCheck is an invaluable travel tool for me, and a nod to actually assessing risk vs one size fits all. I would think that the goal would be to get an even higher percentage of passengers into PreCheck at some point, but I hope that is not before changes have been made to the airport security real estate situation.

No matter what, I’m happy to see that TSA is instituting these changes. Now, if we could just get Global Entry kiosks installed at cruise ports……

-MJ, August 5, 2014