February 18, 2012 - The American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) the world's largest airport organization, representing thousands of men and women across the country who manage and operate the nation's airports pledged its support on Tuesday in working collaboratively with the Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection to grow the PreCheck trusted traveler program to accommodate additional fliers as quickly as possible. 

TSA Pre is an expedited screening initiative that is expanding to airports across the country. Implementing a key component of the agency?s intelligence-driven, risk-based approach to security, TSA Pre enhances aviation security by placing more focus on pre-screening individuals who volunteer to participate in order to expedite the travel experience. 

"Airport executives long have advocated for the adoption of a robust, nationwide trusted traveler program to better identify and scrutinize potential threats while improving passengers' experiences at the airport," AAAE President Chip Barclay said.

"The recent announcement by TSA that the agency intends to bring its PreCheck trusted traveler program on-line quickly at additional airports is welcome news, and airport executives are eager to play an active role in the successful deployment of the program at their facilities. 

"Airport executives anticipate great success with the PreCheck program and recognize that the next challenge will be moving from a largely airline-centric program in operation at a handful of airports to one that is operational for large numbers of travelers at airport facilities across the country," Barclay added.  "Airport operators are uniquely situated and qualified to play a key role in assisting TSA in efficiently and effectively growing participation in PreCheck or a similar trusted traveler program." 

Barclay noted that over the past decade, AAAE and individual airports have worked closely with TSA and the technology community to implement specific programs, including Registered Traveler (RT). In roughly one year, the RT program enrolled more than 250,000 travelers at 24 airports, proving the security and efficiency benefits that adoption of these programs provides. 

PreCheck in its current form is available only to certain elite travelers on specific airlines and participants in the CBP Global Entry program. Barclay said that airport executives would like to see the program expanded to accommodate as many additional travelers as possible in an airport-centric, community based effort.  Barclay added that while airline based programs and Global Entry are good avenues in enrolling qualified participants, additional efforts will be needed to accommodate a broader range of qualified travelers a goal that airports, the traveling public, and the government share.