Is TSA PreCheck On Pause? What Air Travelers Need To Know

Air travelers using TSA PreCheck should have an easier time passing through airports after an abrupt change of course by the Department of Homeland Security. The agency briefly halted the program last weekend as part of its response to the impasse over federal funding.

TSA PreCheck is an expedited security screening program for trusted, low-risk travelers, providing faster, less intrusive, and more efficient passage through over 200 U.S. airports. About 20 million people use the pre-check option.

The confusion began after DHS Secretary Kristi Noam and her top advisor, Corey Lewandowski, announced Saturday the pre-check program would be temporarily paused to save money. The agency faced a funding lapse on Feb. 14 after Congress and the White House failed to reach an agreement on a new budget.

The new policy was withdrawn after only a few hours on Sunday. The Washington Post reported that pushback was swift from the travel industry, lawmakers and others who said it would result in long, inefficient airport security lines.

The bottom line for travelers is TSA PreCheck is working normally. However, the Global Entry, a program run by Customs and Border Protection remains paused, adding to the confusion at major airports during a monster winter storm. That program gives pre-approved individuals an expedited way to clear immigration and customs.

“We decided to handle TSA pre-check on an airport-by-airport basis depending on workforce and resource strain instead of a blanket policy,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement. “If the government stays shutdown, we will be forced to implement these emergency measures nationwide to mitigate resource and workforce strain.”