BALTIMORE — The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is piloting a new means of enrolling travelers into the TSA Pre✓® program at Baltimore Washington International-Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI). The program is testing the use of a portable tablet to enroll passengers on-the-spot.
The advantage of using a tablet to enroll individuals in TSA Pre✓® is that travelers do not need to make an appointment at an enrollment center, and instead they can enroll right then and there.
The convenience of having passengers enroll via a special tablet that can accept and save fingerprints and verify identification is what is being explored in the pilot.
The agency is eager to learn whether passengers are more likely to enroll when they are flying domestically or internationally; if there are certain times of the day that travelers are more or less likely to enroll; if the wait time of a given checkpoint is a factor in enrollment; and if there are ways to increase the efficiency of enrolling in the program.
The tablet-enabled enrollment program is designed to increase the number of travelers enrolled in TSA Pre✓® who might not have otherwise enrolled; to improve traveler satisfaction with the security process and improve upon checkpoint throughput, particularly for individuals who are frequent travelers.
Depending on the results of the pilot, TSA will explore possible expansion of the rollout of TSA Pre✓® tablet-enabled enrollment.
TSA began to operate the test earlier this month on the secure side of the airport’s D/E checkpoint after travelers pass through security screening. The pilot is scheduled to conclude on September 30.