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SALT LAKE CITY — Moving through security at Utah's busiest airport may get a little less stressful.
The Transportation Security Administration announced Tuesday that Salt Lake City International Airport will participate in the TSA PreCheck pilot program — marking key components of the agency’s intelligence-driven, risk-based approach to security.
The initiative is aimed at enhancing security by placing more focus on pre-screening individuals who volunteer information about themselves prior to flying in order to potentially expedite the travel experience, according to TSA public affairs officer Lorie Dankers.
Beginning in early 2012, eligible participants from Delta Airlines as well as members of the Customs and Border Protection Trusted Traveler programs — including Global Entry, SENTRI, and NEXUS — flying domestically out of Salt Lake City may be eligible for expedited screening. TSA uses pre-screening capabilities to make intelligence-based risk assessments on passengers who voluntarily opt in to the PreCheck program and are flying domestically out of a participating airport on a participating airline.
If the TSA determines a passenger is eligible for expedited screening, information will be embedded in the barcode of the passenger’s boarding pass.
The barcode will be read by security personnel at the checkpoint and the passenger may be referred to a lane where they can undergo expedited screening, which could include no longer removing shoes, the 3-1-1 compliant bag in carry-on luggage, a laptop from a carrying case, light outerwear or a belt.
"This (pilot) is going to help us understand what our next steps are going to be," Dankers said. "We are considering additional measures that could potentially allow travelers to volunteer information about themselves prior to flying so that we could expedite the experience for everybody."
She said the agency will incorporate random security measures throughout the airport and no individual is guaranteed expedited screening. The multi-layered security approach also includes behavior detection officers, explosives-detection systems, canine teams, federal air marshals, along with other measures.
Thus far, more than 200,000 passengers have been screened through the pre-check program since it began in October. Participating airports include Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Miami International Airport, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Las Vegas McCarran International Airport.
Dankers said the TSA will also expand the program to include passengers flying out of John F. Kennedy International Airport on American Airlines as well as passengers flying on Delta out of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and on American from Los Angeles International Airport.
More participants will be included in the future, she added.
"We're working toward risk-based security, trying to find ways we can focus our resources on higher-risk passengers and to see if this pre-screening helps us identify lower-risk passengers so that we can continue to keep the skies safe," Dankers said.
Visit www.tsa.gov for more information about the pilot program and a full list of participating airlines and airports.
Email:jlee@ksl.com
