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CNBC
5 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
A program that saves time in U.S. airport security lines opens to some international travelers
A program that lets Americans save time in airport security lines is opening to foreign travelers from four countries. Clear, a NYSE-listed identity company, announced Friday that travelers from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand can apply for Clear+ memberships. More countries will likely be announced later this year, the company said. Clear+ members have their identities verified in via separate lanes at 59 U.S. airports. Verifications are performed using eye, finger or facial biometrics, rather than manual analysis. Candy Buchanan, a Clear+ member based in California, said the lanes are shorter and her identity is verified "within seconds." Travelers can enroll themselves online, or in person at an airport that uses the program, the company said. Individual memberships are $209 per year. Family members under 18 years old can accompany adult members in Clear+ lanes. Buchanan uses her membership with another U.S. program, TSA PreCheck, which collectively allow her to clear airport security within minutes, she said. TSA PreCheck cuts security line times by letting passengers wear their shoes, belts and jackets, and keep liquids and electronics in their carry-on luggage during the security check process. However, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration announced in July it was ending a roughly 20-year old policy requiring travelers to remove their shoes during airport security screenings. The TSA Precheck program is only open to U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals and lawful permanent residents. Global Entry allows expedited entry through U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities. It is available to U.S. citizens, Mexican nationals and citizens of 19 countries and territories, including Australia, Brazil, India, Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom. Other "trusted traveler programs" include Nexus — which is open to American, Canadian citizens and Mexican nationals — and Sentri, which expedites entry at U.S. airports and land borders.
The Hill
23-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
The TSA may soon adopt a new liquids policy
The Department of Homeland Security recently announced that travelers will no longer be required to remove their shoes when being screened through advanced imaging technology at airport security checkpoints. Since travelers who do not have a REAL ID to authenticate their identity are subject to greater security screening, they will almost certainly not be eligible. This change in policy was announced by the DHS secretary, not by the administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (the deputy administrator is currently serving as the acting administrator). The Senate has not approved a new administrator since David Pekoske was relieved of his duties by the president on Jan. 20, 2025. Given that some senators have called for the TSA to be abolished, such cacophony likely means that a new TSA administrator will not be named too soon. So why is this a problem? The TSA security gauntlet is an intricate system of layers, many of which are invisible to travelers. The most visible aspects are what is deployed at airport security checkpoints, including advanced imaging technologies for passenger screening and CT scanners for passenger baggage. Some of the less visible layers include federal air marshals deployed on certain flights, hardened airplane cockpit doors, and Secure Flight, which vets passengers prior to their flight. Risk-based security is the glue that ties all such layers together. It informs the use of security technologies and the creation of policies such that the air system can be maximally secured with minimal passenger inconvenience. Recall that after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, all passengers were treated the same from a security perspective. Such a one-size-fits-all approach was expensive and inconvenient to passengers, with little evidence that it made the air system more secure. It was also unsustainable. This led to the creation of TSA PreCheck, which gives passengers access to expedited screening lanes, where they can keep their shoes on when being screened and keep their electronic devices in their carry-on bag. TSA Precheck passengers have voluntarily gone through a background check — this is why they can be subjected to expedited, less intrusive physical screening at checkpoints. Allowing passengers with a REAL ID to keep their shoes on when being screened is, in and of itself, not bad. It is always easier to tighten security procedures than to relax them. In practice, passengers may discover that when wearing certain types of footwear, like work or hiking boots, choosing to remove them voluntarily may end up saving them time, since the full body screener may flag them for additional screening, which will then require the footwear to be removed anyway. What is next in airport security? Belts are likely on the docket for consideration, although the same delays may occur if the full body scanners flag certain belts for additional screening. The one that is on most people's minds is the liquid restriction. The United Kingdom relaxed its liquid policy at certain airports when it installed CT scanners for carry-on bags. The acting TSA administrator recently indicated that this policy would stay in place in the U.S. until around 2043, given the time needed to fully deploy CT scanners for carry-on bags at all U.S. airports. To confuse the issue further, the DHS secretary has now indicated that the liquid policy is up for discussion, provided the necessary guardrails remain in place to keep the system secure. Perhaps relaxing the liquid restriction for PreCheck passengers traveling from airports with CT scanners will be the next step forward. Most people would welcome this policy change. But what can be done to ensure that the system's security remains sufficiently robust? The answer is not promises from industry partners offering the newest and flashiest scanning technology to detect liquid explosives. It is, rather facial recognition. By requiring all passengers' identity to be authenticated using facial recognition, this layer will fill in holes left by relaxing some physical screening procedures. Facial recognition at airport security checkpoints has been a lightning rod of controversy for some time. A group of senators have called for it to be paused, based on concerns about personal privacy and civil liberties. The Travelers Privacy Protection Act of 2025 would give anyone the right to opt out of facial recognition being used to authenticate their identity. If such an act becomes law, it would set airport security back by a decade, by locking airport security into its threat item-centric paradigm, rather than focusing on threatening people, which is where the greatest risks reside. If the DHS intends to relax more of the security layers in place to protect the aviation system, ensuring that facial recognition continues to be a centerpiece of their strategy is critical. Putting a Senate-approved TSA administrator in place would also be important, to provide confidence that the collection of security layers being used is keeping the air system secure for all travelers. Sheldon H. Jacobson, Ph.D., is a computer science professor in the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He has researched risk-based aviation security for over 25 years, which provided the technical justification for TSA PreCheck.
Travel Weekly
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Travel Weekly
TSA's shoe-removal policy may be coming to an end
The TSA's longstanding policy that requires flyers to remove their shoes during the security process could be coming to a formal end. At a press conference at Washington Reagan Airport on Tuesday, Department of Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem plans to announce a new policy "that will make screening easier for passengers, improve traveler satisfaction, and reduce wait times," according to a DHS media advisory. The event is taking please on the heels of numerous reports, from travelers and the media, that the TSA has already stopped requiring flyers to remove shoes during screening, at least at some airports. The TSA stopped short of confirming the change in a Monday evening email. "TSA and DHS are always exploring new and innovative ways to enhance the passenger experience and our strong security posture," it said. "Any potential updates to our security process will be issued through official channels." A 20-plus year policy The shoe-removal policy formally took effect in 2006. In practice though, the screening procedure began at U.S. airports five years earlier, after British national Richard Ried attempted to detonate bombs in his shoes aboard an American Airlines flight. The policy doesn't apply to members of the TSA Precheck program, children 12 and under and flyers 75 or older. Many countries around the world have already abandoned shoes-off requirements as security screening technology has improved.
Boston Globe
30-06-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
New Staples retail boss takes it ‘easy'
In January, Warkentin became president of Staples' US retail operations. One of his first big moves as the top executive: launching a new campaign around the familiar fat red button, with billboards, store signs, and social media posts. (The button shows up as 'E.B.' on LinkedIn.) And yes, you can still buy buttons that say 'that was easy' for your office cubicle. The Easy Button concept is in keeping with Staples founder Tom Stemberg 's ethos around making life easier for customers, Warkentin says. Advertisement 'It wasn't just a marketing campaign,' Warkentin said. 'It was a commitment.' The idea takes on new resonance now that the company has pivoted to focus more on services and less on traditional brick-and-mortar retail, particularly as consumers and small businesses are using less paper, once the lifeblood of a Staples store. In that regard, Warkentin cited several growth areas such as same-day sign printing, TSA Precheck enrollment, tech support, and 'iPostal' digital mailboxes. Warkentin said he doesn't expect to significantly add to the company's network of 900-plus stores in the United States, but he does want to optimize the stores Staples already has. Advertisement 'What you hopefully are seeing is the evolution of a strategy playing out where we're moving more towards a service-based approach versus a product-based approach, which is where the whole 'Easy campaign' comes in,' Warkentin said. 'Leveraging something from the past and applying it to something that's new and more modern.' For Mass. CEOs, competition is on the menu The 'C' word seems to be everywhere you turn these days. Case in point: State Street chief executive Ron O'Hanley and Rapid7 chief executive Corey Thomas are hosting an unusual dinner meeting on Wednesday, and 'competitiveness' is on the menu. The meeting is unusual because O'Hanley and Thomas invited board chairs of local business associations as opposed to the associations' chief executives — other executives whose day jobs involve leading companies, not trade groups. O'Hanley chairs the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership , and is the former chair of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce 's board, a role he handed off to Thomas a year ago. In their invite, they write that the challenges to the state's economic competitiveness have never been greater. They cite headwinds facing leading industries, and existential threats posed to universities and hospitals. They point to high construction and housing costs, as well as taxes. And they express concerns about roads and public transit. Their stated goal: to identify actions that local business leaders can take to address 'what is now a critical situation.' The meeting follows a Pioneer Institute report in April, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics data, showing that private sector employment in Massachusetts remains 0.74 percent lower than in January 2020 — the third-worst showing of any state. And on Thursday, the Massachusetts Business Roundtable released a report showing an increasing number of their members are hiring remote workers in other states to fill jobs. Advertisement 'Massachusetts has more going for it than it has challenges,' said Citizens Bank executive Lisa Murray , who plans to attend as chair of the Roundtable. 'We need to make sure we're telling that story, so we're focusing on and highlighting all the amazing things that happen here. . . . But we can't be naive and stick our head in the sand, and not address the issues that are as clear as day.' For Boston Arts Academy, a big check from big fans When Mayor Michelle Wu Josh Boger and Amy Boger to step up. The couple has supported the visual and performing arts high school for several years, ever since they received an inquisitive visit by some academy students to their Summer Street studio. Josh Boger is a scientist by training, and a former chief executive of biotech powerhouse Vertex Pharmaceuticals, while his wife is a retired pediatrician. But now he's much more focused on photography, particularly underwater, and she's more focused on ceramics. Boger said it was a no-brainer for the couple to donate that final $1 million, to make the match sought by the anonymous donor and bring the total amount raised by the Boston Arts Academy Foundation to $35.9 million — wrapping up the campaign. The couple had donated to BAA before, he said, but this is their largest single gift to the school. They were recognized by Wu at a reception at the Parkman House on Friday. (The gift will go to a scholarship fund, to support BAA graduates in college, named after foundation chief executive Denella Clark .) Advertisement He said he's impressed that admissions are not based on middle school grades, but instead on auditions and portfolios. He believes many students who are artistically inclined can go on to become great mathematicians and scientists; the pursuits of arts and of science are more similar than many people realize. He probably gets as much out of the student visits as the kids do — if not more. 'It's the questions they ask, and I realize that they're seeing certain aspects [of my photography] for the first time,' Boger said. 'That makes me more interested in those aspects. . . . It reminds me to look at it more carefully.' Wu sees mounting interest in office conversions Interest continues to build in Mayor Michelle Wu 's tax- That's the message the mayor conveyed at an Associated Industries of Massachusetts meeting on Thursday, after AIM chief executive Brooke Thomson asked what her administration is doing to help address the region's housing shortage. Wu touted her conversion program, which offers developers a 75-percent property tax break over 29 years. She noted projects totaling nearly 800 units are in the pipeline, soon to climb to around 1,000. The hope: bring more life to a downtown hurt by the rise of remote work, while creating more housing. Advertisement Actual construction, though, Wu rattled off several other city housing initiatives, and she fielded a separate question from Thomson about buttressing the city's competitiveness. She indicated that perhaps the most important draw for businesses is 'making sure Boston is a city where employees, where people, want to build their lives.' There was little indication of how some of Wu's more progressive policies — increased requirements for affordable housing, for example, or climate-friendly construction — faces some resistance in the business community. A number of prominent executives have donated to Josh Kraft, her challenger in the fall election. To introduce Wu at the AIM event, M&T Bank regional president Grace Lee talked about how Wu stood her ground before confrontational members of Congress in March, over immigration policies. Wu hearkened back to that moment when Thomson asked about the mayor's controversial rollout of more bike lanes, a rollout that Kraft targeted 'When I was sitting in that congressional hearing room in D.C.,' Wu recalled, 'and the questions were coming fast and furious and trying to, you know, call me names, and this and that, I quickly realized, . . . none of these congressional Republicans have been in a bike lane meeting in the city of Boston.' Advertisement Jon Chesto can be reached at
USA Today
19-06-2025
- USA Today
TSA may pull you aside if you have these 4 letters on your boarding pass
TSA may pull you aside if you have these 4 letters on your boarding pass Show Caption Hide Caption What you need to know about airport security rules and checkpoints Here are TSA rules that you need to know and what to expect at each airport checkpoint. The code "SSSS" on a boarding pass stands for "Secondary Security Screening Selection," requiring additional screening at TSA checkpoints. Reasons for the "SSSS" code can include last-minute ticket purchases, one-way cash payments, travel to specific countries, suspicious behavior, or random selection. Passengers with "SSSS" on their boarding pass should allow an extra 15-45 minutes for security screening. As the temperatures rise and the skies clear up, you might be looking forward to a summer vacation. But before flying to your destination, you'll have to go through screening at a TSA checkpoint. Loading and unloading your luggage during the process is a hassle. But TSA can also pull you aside for additional screening if they find something on your boarding pass. Here's what to know. What will happen if there's an 'SSSS' on your boarding pass If your boarding pass has "SSSS" on it, TSA will pull you aside for additional screening. "SSSS" stands for "Secondary Security Screening Selection," which means you'll have to take an extra few steps beyond regular security protocols, according to Islands. This is not just for regular pass holders. Even those with a Trusted Traveler Program, such as Global Entry and TSA Precheck, or a CLEAR access purchase, may also be pulled for additional screening if they find those four letters on their boarding pass. Why is there an 'SSSS' on my boarding pass? The code can appear on anyone's boarding pass. A few common reasons for this group of letters include: Purchasing a last-minute ticket; Booking a direct one-way flight and paying in cash; Flying to or from a country flagged by the U.S. State Department; Raising suspicions at the airport; Selected at random. If you do find this quartet of letters on your boarding pass, allow 15–45 minutes of extra time to get through security at the airport. Annual traffic at airports in 2024 The TSA reported a total of 904,068,577 commercial passengers in 2024. That number was up from 858,548,196 passengers in 2023, according to TSA checkpoints. That's an increase of 5.3%. As of the end of May, 403,784,688 commercial passengers have passed through TSA checkpoints in 2025. Jim Ross contributed
