NEWS
Government Wants Speedier Screenings At Airports
Associated Press
The Homeland Security Department wants to expand speedy screening of preapproved, low risk air travelers arriving in the United States to most international airports in the country.
For more than a year, the department has been testing this
program at seven airports across the country and found that
participating travelers cut their average waiting time to be
screened from 10 minutes to three.
The voluntary program, called Global Entry, would be open to
U.S. citizens and permanent residents at least 14 years old.
They would have to pay a $100 fee and undergo a background check. If
accepted into the program, they can go through expedited screening
when they fly into the United States. Ultimately, U.S. Customs and
Border Protection, a homeland security agency, plans to expand the
program to include foreign travelers whose countries have an
acceptable prescreening process. For instance, people from the
Netherlands who are part of that country's Privium program have
been accepted into the pilot program.
The program will begin at the seven airports testing the pilot
program and expand to most major international airports. The seven
are New York's Kennedy, Houston's George Bush, Washington's Dulles,
Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson, Chicago's O'Hare, Los Angeles
International and Miami International.
The program allows registered participants to use a self-service
kiosk to report their arrival, scan their passport or permanent
residency card, submit their fingerprints for biometric
verification and make a declaration at the touch-screen kiosk. The
kiosk then takes a digital photograph of the traveler as part of
the transaction record, issues a receipt and directs the traveler
to baggage claim and the exit. Global Entry participants may still
be selected randomly by customs officers for additional screening
at any time in the process.
The Homeland Security Department published the proposed rule in
Thursday's Federal Register. The public has until January 19 to
comment on the proposal.
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