The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and two industry groups says they will begin testing a new system at airport checkpoints to verify the employment status of airline pilots so that they can receive expedited security screening.
The pilot testing will occur at seven airports as early as May 1 and last for about 90 days. If successful, the program will roll out to additional airports in the U.S.
The new system will allow participating pilots to access their aircraft more quickly and help reduce congestion at airport security lines, possibly by allowing pilots through a different checkpoint lane.
TSA first announced plans to move forward with an expedited screening system for U.S. air carrier pilots in November in response to complaints from the pilots and their unions over security procedures at checkpoints despite the fact that the pilots go through extensive background checks and are obviously trusted to fly passenger aircraft.
The new test program is another step in TSA’s efforts to explore a more risk-based approach to screening at airport checkpoints.
TSA Administrator John Pistole said in a statement that “Deploying an enhanced screening program for pilots in uniform that allows TSA to verify their employment and identity is a step in the right direction as TSA continues to explore more risk-based, intelligence-driven security solutions. We want to focus our limited resources on passenger screening, while speeding and enhancing the checkpoint experience for everyone.”
TSA was joined by the Air Line Pilots Association, International, and the Air Transport Association (ATA) in announcing the new crewmember identity verification program. Under the program, Transportation Security Officers will check the airline-issued identification of pilots against airline databases that in turn will display a photo and employment verification. Pilots will still be subject to random screening, behavior detection officers and other layers of security, a TSA spokesperson says.
The new identity verification system was sponsored by ALPA and ATA and developed by an airline, Tom Hendricks, senior vice president for Operations and Safety at ATA, tells TR2. He says that ATA will supply devices to TSA for use by TSOs to read the airline-issued credentials to be queried against the respective airline databases.
Hendricks said that ATA will likely test various credential reader devices during the forthcoming pilot tests.
TSA says that with the new identification system any regulated U.S. airline can connect to it and any pilot employed by one of those carriers will be able to participate.
While the new test program applies to pilots, TSA says that flight attendants will be considered for future phases of the project. The Association of Flight Attendants says it welcomes the new alternate screening program, noting that flight attendants will be included after initial testing.