Air Canada Becomes First Foreign Airline to Use TSA's PreCheck Program

The Transportation Security Administration's PreCheck program is being expanded to include international airlines. The first non-US airline to participate in the expedited screening process is Air Canada.

Starting Tuesday, Air Canada is the first international carrier to use PreCheck, but it won't be the last one as other foreign airlines are expected to start as well, the Associated Press reports. An airline has to update its computer system to include extra information in boarding pass barcodes and to print a PreCheck logo.

Passengers who participate in the PreCheck program get to go through security quicker as they don't have to take their shoes, belts or jackets off and they can keep liquids and laptops in their bag while they go through standard metal detectors as opposed to full-body scanners. The process is faster for passengers and the TSA and officers can process twice as many passengers in the same amount of time as the regular screening. The TSA claims this process helps them pay more attention to other passengers who many actually be a threat.

The PreCheck program has expanded vastly since it started at four airports in October 2011. There are now PreCheck systems at 118 of 450 U.S. airports and about five million out of 14 million passengers go through the quicker process each week.

The program is open so some frequent fliers and 2.4 million travelers that are enrolled in Customs and Border Protection programs like Global Entry, Nexus and Sentri. The TSA also opened an application process in December to allow people to enroll at PreCheck centers at 17 airports and 237 non-airport locations. Nearly 204,000 people have enrolled in the program so far. Enrollment costs $85 and is good for five years. Those who enroll with Global Entry must pay $100 and have a passport.

The TSA sometimes picks passengers at random to go through the PreCheck line because there aren't always enough people using them. The TSA has been trying to get more people to enroll.

Now the government is turning to international airlines to participate in the program but airlines have to pay to upgrade their own computers to make the changes, which is why not every airline is on board. There are only nine US airlines that use the program including Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, US Airways, and Virgin America.

However the TSA believes more foreign carriers will participate now that Air Canada has started using PreCheck. The TSA is working with airlines of all sizes to try to get them on board. Air Canada is a big one as it operates to more locations in the US than any other international airline and it serves 49 US airports. Only 41 airports that serve Air Canada will have the PreCheck program.