gingersnaps

The latimes has published an article extolling that TSA Precheck will ONLY be for paid enrollees; that Managed Inclusion has ended, and that a domestic terrorist was sent into precheck via managed inclusion.

Points to consider:

• Precheck is not limited to paid enrolless or those with KTN.
• Managed Inclusion is still in operation.
• DHS IG determined that a domestic terrorist was given Precheck by Secure Flight.
• TSA did not concur with DHS IG recommendation to cease granting Precheck with Secure Flight.

Randyk47

Like with many newspaper articles, or by other news media venue, I take some with a grain of salt. Granted it's been fun to try to keep track of the off and on again TSA PreCheck policy and procedures. Regardless of the various announcements passengers still seem to be getting PreCheck without being enrolled in a qualifying program and I've personally seen random selection still happening. Less than before? Hard to say. It's no like I stand around security taking a survey. We're both enrolled and have been getting PreCheck 100% of the time the last year so whatever is or isn't happening hasn't impacted us.

Often1

+1 - If managed inclusion still occurs, it's rare and very random. I get Pre-Check 100% of the time through GE and rarely have more than a few people ahead of me. If one of them happens to be MI and it takes me 10 extra seconds, I'm really not bothered by it.

For what it's worth, even lengthy Pre lines tend to take little time because people flow quickly.

KevinDTW

I have Pre, but my wife who is also a PM does not. n=1 of course, but she continues to get Pre pretty much as often as me including as recently as last week. And I still see people in the Pre line who seem clueless as to the procedure, so perhaps random selection is still happening as well.

chrisl137

I never paid for pre and I've gotten it 3 times in oct/nov. In each case it was on my BP-- not being pulled out of a regular line and sent to pre.

I saw the article and they didn't address all the ways that people get Pre. They may not have asked the right questions in the right ways, and whoever at TSA was answering their question was probably offering as little as possible just because that's what they do.

Randyk47

Since you brought this up I had a funny experience a couple of weeks ago at DFW. Had a connecting flight through DFW and ducked outside for a quick smoke. Had PreCheck on my boarding pass so I figured no big deal. Came back inside and went to security. For some reason PreCheck line had like a dozen people in it and the regular line had two or three. The sorting agent directed me toward the PreCheck line and I asked her could I go through the regular line. She looked at the PreCheck line and nodded in agreement. I was traveling light and only had my backpack with my iPad and headphones in it along with my other typical travel stuff so nothing to take out. As I approached the end of the regular line the sorting agent called out "Man in the blue polo is PreCheck." They let me pass through like regular PreCheck and only asked me to identify which carry on was mine. Worked for me.

Fleck

Sweet! Fewer shuffling, cattle, "non-rev" PREs in my damn way.

gingersnaps

The article is inaccurate.

Random pre still happens - so the process (Secure Flight) that assigned a convicted terrorist Precheck is still in operation. And even though the ticket checker knew she was a terrorist, the supervisor said "precheck on her boarding pass, let her in."

Managed Inclusion is still in operation. Which means herds of cattle sent to Precheck.

cestmoi123

Simple solution: convert all lanes to Precheck, starting tomorrow morning. Apply Precheck screening (shoes on, laptops in bags, etc.) to all passengers. Faster throughput means fewer TSA staff needed, take the money, put it into expanding Medicaid, where it will actually save lives.

gingersnaps

And what is your solution for the Richard Reids of the world?

Dogs and predictable ETD can be easily worked around.

Boggie Dog

And so can the Strip Search Machines as has been demonstrated.

The only 100% sure way of making sure that no contraband is brought into the secure area of airports is to not allow any personal items or clothing for both airport workers and passengers.

Is that the kind of system you would want to live with?

mikeef

+1, a solution that I have endorsed many times.

My solution? Easy. People that are so nervous about the world that they want to prevent every conceivable risk, no matter how remote, should probably stay home.

Mike

cestmoi123

Be upfront and say "we are balancing cost and benefit, and the improved security of removing shoes and taking laptops out of bags is minimal at best, while the cost in time for passengers and staffing for TSA is significant. We're better off taking those resources and devoting them to other government programs (i.e. Medicaid) that have proven returns in terms of quality and quantity of life, or cutting taxes."

gingersnaps

How do you go from wanting to prevent shoes bombs to 100% no contraband?

The prohibited item list is ridiculous. TSA allows more "weapons" than are permitted on the prohib list. As Kip Hawley suggested years ago TSA waste energy going after small knives. Hawley even suggested that a simple software patch would be beneficial.

gingersnaps

Medicaid is more important that doing our best to ensure hundreds or thousands of people do not fall from the sky to their deaths....what a strange world we live in.