TSA Pre-Check (which offers expedited security screening for eligible passengers, whereby they don’t have to take off their shoes or take liquids or laptops out of their bags), along with Global Entry, are the two greatest improvements to the travel experience for the frequent flyer in the past couple of years, in my opinion.

That being said, Pre-Check can be a bit confusing and frustrating at times, since you can’t always bank on it. Even if you’ve registered for the Pre-Check program you’re not eligible with every itinerary. To keep things somewhat “random” you don’t always get access, which I’ve found to be the case about 10% of the time.

That’s why I’m happy to see this announcement from Delta today:

We’ve got some good news for you if you’ve already experienced TSA PreCheck. Starting today, we will become the first airline to print an indicator on kiosk-printed boarding passes to give you some advance notice if you’ve been selected for TSA PreCheck. On Thursday, April 19, we’ll add a similar indicator on OCI and mobile boarding passes. The indicators will be available at the start of the check-in window in all formats.

“TSA PRECHK” will appear immediately underneath the passenger name on printed boarding passes and for customers using mobile boarding passes the TSA PreCheck logo will appear at the top right corner above the barcode.

The TSA PreCheck indicator will appear on boarding passes throughout your itinerary whether the airport has TSA PreCheck or not so be sure to verify that the airport is a participating location.

Even though there have long been workarounds to figuring out whether or not you’re eligible for Pre-Check on a particular itinerary, it’s great to see Delta putting it on “paper.”

Here’s to hoping other carriers do the same!

Gary posted a link to this pretty awesome video:

The gist of it is that a couple of people are trying to hand out flyers at Albany Airport about opting out at security, and the airport authority does everything they can to bully them, claiming they’re not allowed to film, they need a permit, they need insurance, they can’t be on the departure level, etc., all of which are bogus.

Fortunately there’s a pretty awesome sheriff, Office Lenic, who sticks up for what’s right.

As far as the airport authority guy goes, what an absolute jerk. He’s acting like a five year old. Almost makes me want to boycott Albany Airport in the future. Not that I’d ever go to Albany unless there was a great mileage run fare anyway, but…

Global Entry and TSA Pre-Check are two programs that have made the travel experience so much more pleasant for frequent travelers over the past couple of years. Through Global Entry you can simply use a kiosk when arriving back in the US instead of talking to an immigration officer, and don’t have to fill out the landing card. It’s a huge time saver, and has probably saved me dozens of hours over the past 18 months I’ve had it.

Now on a trial basis US Global Entry members that are 16 years of age or older can use SmartGate in Australia, which allows passengers to self-process through immigration. You can find out more about SmartGate here. It’s currently available at the following Australian airports: Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney.

Can’t wait to try this out the next time I’m in Australia!

I’ve mentioned a few times in the past the “security” tactic the TSA employs at some airports (including JFK and SFO) whereby they ask you to say your name as they check your ID (and contrary to popular belief/logic, this is not a behavior detection technique, given that the agents asking these questions aren’t behavior detection officers).

But I really am curious about this from a legal perspective. Can you legally be denied entry to the secure area for refusing to say your name? I’m looking at the TSA’s website, and I don’t see any reference to having to answer any questions in order to be allowed to pass through the checkpoint, as long as you submit yourself to all the required security. Presumably the purpose of the program is to ensure nobody passes through the checkpoint with a fake ID, though it would seem to me that offering to show an alternative form of identification would accomplish the same purpose, no?

So does anyone know what the law actually is? Nothing I’ll lose sleep over, but I’m just kind of curious.

Per CNN:

The nation’s 44,000 airport screeners would lose the title “officer,” their metal badges and maybe even the stripes down their pant legs under a bill sponsored by a Transportation Security Administration critic.

Called the “STRIP Act,” for “Stop TSA’s Reach In Policy Act,” the bill was introduced by Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, on Thursday in response to a series of alleged strip searches by TSA officers.

While I doubt the bill will go anywhere, this actually makes a lot of sense. TSA agents are government clerks, whether or not they want to throw around the term “officer.”

I once got in a bit of an argument with a TSA agent who I referred to by his last name, “Mr. Williams.” I was trying to be respectful by doing so, though he insisted that he was worthy of being referred to as “Officer Williams,” so I requested to be referred to as “Officer” as well. He then asked me if I’m a law enforcement officer, to which I responded “no, I’m a chief executive officer… are you a law enforcement officer?” Of course he just shrugged his shoulders…

Seriously though, TSA agents aren’t law enforcement officers, and I think the lack of a badge or title “officer” would help remind them of that.