No more removing your shoes and belts or pulling out liquids from a carry-on bag at the airport's security checkpoint.
"I mean it's almost like old days," says frequent flyer, Catherine McCabe. "It's so efficient. I don't dread having to go to the airport any more."
TSA's Pre√ program is now operating at the Greater Rochester International Airport. The screening program allows pre-approved passengers to move through a select screening lane more smoothly leaving on jackets and keeping laptops in their case.
To experience this benefit, travelers have to fill out an $85 online application, providing identification and fingerprints. Once approved, "TSA Pre√" will be stamped on your boarding pass.
"We know that the vast majority of passengers pose no threat to security,” says John McCaffrey, TSA's Federal Security Director at the Rochester airport. “TSA moves away from the one-size-fits-all approach to transportation security. We see TSA Pre √ as being more effective and efficient by enabling TSA to focus our efforts on passengers we know less about."
Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks says the Pre√ program is a nice option for many people who travel on a regular basis.
"We have people who are in this airport three and four times a week. This should make that easier for them it's going to reduce time waiting in line, it's going to allow individuals to keep their shoes on, it's going to provide an opportunity to keep laptops and liquids in carry-on baggage."
The Rochester airport is one of 100 airports nationwide where the TSA Pre√ program is available. American, Delta, United and US Airways airlines are a part of the TSA's pre-screening program. Jet Blue and Southwest Airlines plan to join the program soon.
More than 19 million passengers have used TSA Pre√ since it launched in 2011.