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Early Monday, the line for security at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport stretched outside the terminal into the dawn.
"We're expecting a record-breaking volume of people - there are about 38k of you flying out today," the airport's social media account posted on X. "Please arrive at least 2.5 hours prior to your flight's departure for domestic."
It's not just Austin. Travelers across the country are facing longer wait times thanks to the confluence of Transportation Security Administration staffing shortages, bad weather and a spring break travel surge. Even line-cutting programs such as TSA PreCheck and Clear have sometimes proved futile.
But there is one hack many travelers are missing that could save them: TSA PreCheck Touchless ID.
TSA PreCheck Touchless ID is a separate lane from regular PreCheck that uses facial recognition to verify your identity. Instead of handing an ID over to a TSA officer for verification, enrolled travelers just pause for a face scan, then keep moving to the X-ray machines. It's not available at every airport and can be used only with participating airlines.
Crucially, travelers must opt in to the program before they check in for their flight. If you try to enroll at the airport while you're stuck in a long line, it's too late.
It's also not a foolproof work-around. We've shown up to the airport eager to try the program only to find the verification machine down for maintenance. We've also been lumped into the standard PreCheck line in terminals where TSA PreCheck Touchless ID is available, but no dedicated lane was set up. So don't cut your arrival time too short.
• Here's what else you need to know.
What is PreCheck Touchless ID?
The TSA said in an email that the program is a joint effort from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, airports and airlines that allows travelers "to move through dedicated lanes with ease, enjoying a smoother and more convenient airport experience."
The first iteration was launched in 2021 in partnership with Delta Air Lines at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. It is expanding to 65 airports this spring.
Just because you don't have to show your ID doesn't mean you should leave it at home. TSA warns that travelers should still carry a physical Real ID-compliant form of identification as a backup.
• Who is eligible to use it?
To use the program, fliers must be a TSA PreCheck member with a valid "known traveler number" and an active airline profile (such as being enrolled in a loyalty program). They must also have a valid passport uploaded to their airline profile.
• The airlines participating in the program include:
• Alaska Airlines
• American Airlines
• Delta Air Lines
• Southwest Airlines
• United Airlines
• What about families?
Children can use TSA PreCheck Touchless ID lanes with their enrolled parents, but there are a few caveats.
Children ages 13 to 17 must have a boarding pass that displays the PreCheck Touchless ID symbol. Children 12 and younger do not need any indicator on their boarding pass.
Additionally, all tickets must be booked on the same reservation.
Children younger than 18 will not present their face for biometric comparison, but they may be asked to show their boarding passes.
• How do I sign up? To use the program, travelers must first opt in through their airline's website or app before checking in for their flight.
The process varies by airline, but you can usually find the prompt under a "travel documents" section (where you add your known traveler number or passport details) of your airline loyalty program app or website.
American Airlines customers, for example, will find the opt-in choice toward the bottom of the "Information and password" page of their AAdvantage profile. Alaska Airlines customers should go to their account settings, then click the "travel documents" section.
Once travelers have opted in, then checked in for their flight, a TSA PreCheck Touchless ID symbol should appear on their boarding pass. At the airport, travelers should follow signs to a separate TSA PreCheck Touchless ID lane. Here, staff will ask to see your boarding pass to ensure you're enrolled before allowing you to enter. If the symbol is not on your boarding pass, you won't be able to use the lane, even if you are enrolled. In airports or terminals without dedicated lanes, travelers may be directed to the standard PreCheck lane.
Which airports offer PreCheck Touchless ID? Travelers should check the TSA website for more information, as the program is expanding. TSA PreCheck Touchless ID is available at the following airports through varying participating airlines:
• Albuquerque International Sunport
• Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
•Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport
•Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport
•Boise Airport
•Boston Logan International Airport
•Bradley International Airport
•Buffalo Niagara International Airport
•Charleston International Airport
•Charlotte Douglas International Airport
•Chicago Midway International Airport
•Chicago O'Hare International Airport
•Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
•Cleveland Hopkins International Airport
• Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
• Dallas Love Field
• Daniel K. Inouye International Airport
• Denver International Airport
• Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
• Washington Dulles International Airport
• Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport
• Harry Reid International Airport
• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
• Indianapolis International Airport
• Jacksonville International Airport
• John F. Kennedy International Airport
• John Glenn Columbus International Airport
• John Wayne Airport
• Kansas City International Airport
• LaGuardia Airport
• Long Beach Airport
• Los Angeles International Airport
• Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport
• Luis Munoz Marin International Airport
• Miami International Airport
Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport
• Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport
• Nashville International Airport
• Newark Liberty International Airport
• Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport
• Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport
• Orlando International Airport
• Palm Beach International Airport
• Palm Springs International Airport
• Philadelphia International Airport
• Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
• Pittsburgh International Airport
• Portland International Airport
• Raleigh–Durham International Airport
• Reagan National Airport
• Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport
• Sacramento International Airport
• Salt Lake City International Airport
• San Antonio International Airport
• San Diego International Airport
• San Francisco International Airport
• Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
• St. Louis Lambert International Airport
• Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport
• Tampa International Airport
• Tulsa International Airport
• Will Rogers International Airport
• William P. Hobby Airport
• What should I know about privacy concerns?
The TSA is using more facial recognition at the airport, including in regular security lanes and CBP checks.
On its website, the TSA says, "Images are not used for law enforcement, surveillance, nor shared with other entities. Your photo and personal data are deleted within 24-hours of your scheduled flight departure."
Some say facial recognition technology raises privacy and civil liberties concerns.
"Facial recognition technology is notoriously unreliable," said Nate Wessler, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project.
"Denying people access to their flight because an algorithm got it wrong is a very bad outcome for travelers and something we don't want to be playing with," Wessler continued.
There has been bipartisan effort to put more guardrails on biometric use at airports. In the meantime, U.S. citizens have the right to opt out of biometric screening at the airport.
(COMMENT, BELOW)