Golden Triangle travelers looking for an easier time at airport security may be in luck next week.
Golden Triangle Regional Airport is hosting a TSA PreCheck Enrollment event Aug. 26-29 from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. each day on the second floor of the airport’s passenger terminal, where the Transportation Security Administration will be helping passengers register or re-enroll into the program.
“For us, it’s all about trying to be a convenient location for passengers who are interested in benefiting from TSA PreCheck and then continuing to serve the public and be a place where they have more convenient options,” GTRA Executive Director Matt Dowell said.
Travelers, once arriving at the event, will go through a roughly 10-minute process that will involve fingerprinting, reviewing identifying documents and a background check, Dowell said.
Once that background check comes back clear, the applicant will receive a notice from TSA within 30 days that they are enrolled in the program and have been given a Known Traveler Number.
The KTN, which is embedded in the barcode of boarding passes, can then be provided to travel companies and airlines for future uses and presented top airport security at check-in.
A pre-checked traveler may not have to remove belts, jackets, laptops or a 3-1-1 liquids bag, a GTRA press release said.
Dowell said the four-day event typically brings in between 200 to 300 applicants.
In hosting events like this, GTRA is hoping to fill in for the lack of a regional enrollment center for those in the Golden Triangle and west Alabama, Dowell said.
“There’s not one in our Golden Triangle area, and so that’s part of the gap we’re trying to fill by having these pop up events, … working with TSA to bring a more local option for people who are needing to renew or get TSA PreCheck for the first time,” Dowell said.
For those who are unable to attend the four day event, the next closest options to enroll in TSA PreCheck is in Jackson or Birmingham.
Enrollment for the TSA PreCheck program costs $78 and lasts for five years.
It’s recommended those coming to the event schedule an appointment online and ensure they bring identifying documents, including either a passport or a photo ID and a social security card or birth certificate to complete the application, Dowell said.
The event will be taking both scheduled appointments or walk-ins, though appointments will be given priority. To pre-enroll for the program and make an appointment for the event online go to grta.com and click on the TSA PreCheck banner.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
