How much time you’ll spend in airport security lines is a major concern for air travelers now. A fast-expanding program that’s part of TSA PreCheck could get you to your gate in record time.
Some passengers are getting through security checkpoint lines in the D.C. area in about 30 seconds to a minute by using the TSA PreCheck Touchless ID program. News4 timed it out.
TSA PreCheck members can go to their airline app and sign up. When you get to the airport, you:
- show the Touchless ID pass on your phone
- walk through a short line
- get a facial recognition scan
- head to the security screening area
At Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, a traveler said he appreciated how quickly he was able to move toward his gate.
“I came though, it was a face scan which, I’m already on file anyway, and then it was faster than PreCheck. It’s part of PreCheck, but it was faster,” he said.
He said he wasn’t worried about the use of facial recognition technology.
“Not with cameras everywhere in the world now. They have pictures of your face kind of everywhere we walk. We kinda gave that up 20 years ago when we started carrying cellphones with us everywhere,” he said.
Another traveler said the program is part of a changing technology landscape.
”I think a lot of people aren’t used to air travel and so they don’t know to trust it because it’s new and you have to think differently, right?” she said.
The TSA PreCheck Touchless ID program has been around since 2021 but has recently expanded rapidly across the country, including at all three airports in the D.C. area. About 65 airports in total are using it.
One note: Touchless ID only applies to flights booked after you sign up, not before.
Standard checkpoint lines were moving quickly at our airports on Wednesday.
With TSA officers not getting actively paid, one DCA officer tells News4’s Joseph Olmo about how it’s affected her life.
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