Have you heard of the TSA's "Managed Inclusion" program?

[jtowntoflorida]

We were on (a non-Disney) vacation last week, just returned yesterday. Our return flight home originated at Boston's Logan Airport, and we were surprised when we were hustled to a short, fast security line. We didn't have to take any electronics out of our bags (including a laptop), we didn't have to take our baggie with our liquids out of our carryons, and we were able to leave our shoes on. My husband did have his hands swiped and tested for whatever it is they test for (bomb residue?), but they didn't do mine. They did select one of our bags to a random check, but it was my six year old's backpack, which they looked in for approximately 2.3 seconds. It was nice, but very odd and very rushed...we were through security in under 5 minutes, literally.

Subsequent Googling has revealed that we apparently got selected to be in the TSA's "Managed Inclusion" program, where they select low-risk passengers for the expedited screening that people in the Pre-Check program get. I'm just wondering if anyone else had experienced this, and what your experience was like. To me, it felt very rushed and not thorough at all, but what do I know. They're supposed to select people based on behavior, but I can tell you were were acting like total nutjobs (only 2 hours of sleep, a two hour drive to the airport for an early morning flight, and we also left a bag behind on the rental car shuttle so we'd been running around Logan tracking the bag down for the previous 30 minutes) so I'm not sure why they picked us at all. LOL.

 

[CPT Tripss]

Interesting. Is it a pilot? Did all bags get xrayed and one opened?

It's security the old fashioned way, or if they used the look under your clothes machines instead of metal detectors, the new-fangled old fashioned way. Shoes on and stuff staying in the carry-on pose no additional risk to aircraft. Since 99+++% of pax are no risk, the level of search described is more than enough to keep us safe.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Interesting. Is it a pilot? Did all bags get xrayed and one opened?

It's security the old fashioned way, or if they used the look under your clothes machines instead of metal detectors, the new-fangled old fashioned way. Shoes on and stuff staying in the carry-on pose no additional risk to aircraft. Since 99+++% of pax are no risk, the level of search described is more than enough to keep us safe.

They did say it was a pilot program. All the bags did go through the X-ray machine, but only the one was opened. My husband did say that they didn't seem too happy to be opening a kid's backpack--they wanted to do his bag--but he didn't have a carryon of his own.

We just went through the regular old-fashioned metal detectors, not the new body scanners, but when we travel with our kids, we always go through the old metal detectors. The kids are never sent through the body scanners.

The whole thing was very interesting. If this is how the security line via PreCheck program works, I'm going to sign up for it for sure since I travel for work quite a bit and it saved so much time.

 

[CPT Tripss]

Thanks for the additional info.

Seems like a protection racket to charge people in order to get the less invasive airport security screening. . That said, I understand why people do it.

 

[MaleficentRN]

They did say it was a pilot program. All the bags did go through the X-ray machine, but only the one was opened. My husband did say that they didn't seem too happy to be opening a kid's backpack--they wanted to do his bag--but he didn't have a carryon of his own.

We just went through the regular old-fashioned metal detectors, not the new body scanners, but when we travel with our kids, we always go through the old metal detectors. The kids are never sent through the body scanners.

The whole thing was very interesting. If this is how the security line via PreCheck program works, I'm going to sign up for it for sure since I travel for work quite a bit and it saved so much time.

I imagine there will be a lot of ruffled feathers from people that are not picked for the "fast pass"
Just an aside. I used PreCheck for the first time last week. Awesome! The kids and I got through in two minutes while DH had to stand in line for half an hour. If you travel a lot, it's well worth it.

 

[wiigirl]

I imagine there will be a lot of ruffled feathers from people that are not picked for the "fast pass"
Just an aside. I used PreCheck for the first time last week. Awesome! The kids and I got through in two minutes while DH had to stand in line for half an hour. If you travel a lot, it's well worth it.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

I imagine there will be a lot of ruffled feathers from people that are not picked for the "fast pass"
Just an aside. I used PreCheck for the first time last week. Awesome! The kids and I got through in two minutes while DH had to stand in line for half an hour. If you travel a lot, it's well worth it.

How did you apply for PreCheck? I was looking into it last night, but it doesn't look like the online system is up and running yet? But I know people who participate in PreCheck, so I know there has to be some way to get into it. It's definitely a "FastPass" worth paying for.

I did have to take a day out of my vacation for a work trip to DC, and a woman went through the PreCheck line but then was rejected from expedited screening and had to go through the regular screening. It still worked out OK for her because she got to jump to the front of the peon line, but I thought it was interesting that PreCheck participants don't always get expedited screening...they can still be randomly picked for regular screening.

 

[MaleficentRN]

How did you apply for PreCheck? I was looking into it last night, but it doesn't look like the online system is up and running yet? But I know people who participate in PreCheck, so I know there has to be some way to get into it. It's definitely a "FastPass" worth paying for.

I did have to take a day out of my vacation for a work trip to DC, and a woman went through the PreCheck line but then was rejected from expedited screening and had to go through the regular screening. It still worked out OK for her because she got to jump to the front of the peon line, but I thought it was interesting that PreCheck participants don't always get expedited screening...they can still be randomly picked for regular screening.

That is true. It is random. But from what I understand, not having your PreCheck name match the exact name on your ticket exactly can trigger that.
You can apply here:
Global Online Enrollment
I have Global Entry. It is $100 and good for re entry from international travel. If you live near a Mexican or Canadian border, I suggest getting Sentri (Mexico) or Nexus (Canada) as it is only $50. The interview sites (an airport CBP office) are near those borders and as I am on the East Coast, I can't get to them and had to pony up another $50. Some travelers will arrange their Sentri or Nexus interviews to coincide when they are at the airport with an interview site.
HTH!

 

[Tara]

The 3 best things in all of US travel:
1. Clear (I live part time in SF and so I use it a lot)
2. TSA PreCheck
3. Global Entry

I don't get to use PreCheck often as it isn't offered at my home airport, but it is sooooooo pleasant compared to the normal process. The no/little line part is great, but not having to pull stuff out of your bag part or take off your shoes is TERRIFIC.

The Global Entry process the PP mentioned is fairly easy, though you do have to appear at a CBP office in person for an interview. I believe the $100 fee is good for 10 years, so if you travel often domestically from airports that offer PreCheck, the $100 would probably be a good investment, even if you never use it for international re-entry. Once you have Global Entry (or Nexus/Sentri...any of these Trusted Traveler programs) you get a traveler number that you can enter in your airline profile or when you purchase a ticket and provide identity information. That lets the system know you qualify.

 

[ParrotBill]

... but I can tell you were were acting like total nutjobs

TSA takes one look at you and says, "You're our kind of people. This way!"

 

[abolanwoski]

How did you apply for PreCheck? I was looking into it last night, but it doesn't look like the online system is up and running yet? But I know people who participate in PreCheck, so I know there has to be some way to get into it. It's definitely a "FastPass" worth paying for.

I did have to take a day out of my vacation for a work trip to DC, and a woman went through the PreCheck line but then was rejected from expedited screening and had to go through the regular screening. It still worked out OK for her because she got to jump to the front of the peon line, but I thought it was interesting that PreCheck participants don't always get expedited screening...they can still be randomly picked for regular screening.

The way I participate in Precheck is that I have a military CAC ID card (common access card). Anyone with one (AD, DOD civilian employee, but not the pink spouse ID) can use the precheck lanes. BTW LOVE IT!!!!!!!

 

[bumbershoot]

DH gets it sometimes. It's nice when he knows ahead of time as he hates having to go see if he can use the line (and an airport he was in recently had it in the totally different direction than he needed to go). So this development was good for him:

"Recently TSA approved several methods to notify passengers of their eligibility for TSA Pre✓™. Passengers traveling on Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and US Airways will start to see a TSA Pre✓™ notification on select boarding passes."

He has global entry and is a ff with a few big airlines. Hats how he's gotten access to it.