A select group of frequent fliers will have the chance to go through expedited security screening in Atlanta starting this fall as part of a pilot program run by the Transportation Security Administration.
For those selected, it might mean being able to forgo taking off shoes and removing laptops from bags.
The TSA is partnering with Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines to begin testing the program in Atlanta and Detroit. Some Delta frequent fliers who are also U.S. citizens will be emailed about the program in the next day or so, Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliott said.
The TSA is also partnering with American Airlines in Miami and Dallas.
For those selected who opt in, the airline will collect a name, date of birth, gender and redress number if applicable. There is no fee.
Those who join will have information embedded into their boarding pass bar code. At a selected screening checkpoint at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the TSA agent will scan the bar code and may refer the passenger to a lane with expedited screening. But there's no guarantee.
"If they opt in, it is possible that on any given day, before any given flight, they may be allowed to participate" in the expedited screening, TSA spokeswoman Sari Koshetz said. The program is still being developed, but the TSA said passengers will still be subject to recurrent security checks and random screening, and at this point there is no change to the limits on liquids or the chance of going through a full-body imaging machine or a pat-down.
The TSA expects about 2,000 people per day to participate in the program in Atlanta. If the concept is successful, Koshetz said it will help the TSA "focus resources on higher-risk and unknown passengers while expediting the process for lower-risk and known passengers whenever possible."
Some members of other trusted traveler programs through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including Global Entry, SENTRI and NEXUS, will also be eligible to participate if they are U.S. citizens and flying on Delta or American.
The TSA said it plans to eventually expand the program to other airlines and airports.
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