TSA chief wants huge TSA PreCheck member growth — and says those big CT scanners are faster than you think

01.10.2024 - 13:43 / thepointsguy.com / David Pekoske

On any given day, about a third of passengers who pass through Transportation Security Administration checkpoints use the TSA PreCheck lanes.

The agency's top leader hopes it'll someday be three-quarters of passengers.

"We have said publicly, and I'll say it again here: We want more people in PreCheck," TSA administrator David Pekoske said last week during remarks at the 2024 Regional Airline Association Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C.

To be clear, he doesn't mean three-quarters of all travelers; PreCheck passengers tend to fly more than the average American — so on a particular day, make up an outsized portion of passengers at an airport.

Still, it's an ambitious goal.

After all, the TSA recently surpassed 20 million active TSA PreCheck members, a record and a milestone that itself represented astonishing growth from even just 18 months earlier, in 2023.

Altogether, some 40 million travelers are currently approved to use the expedited lanes. This accounts for frequent flyers who get their TSA PreCheck access through Global Entry, plus federal employees whose security clearance qualifies them for the fast-tracked security screening.

Related: Global Entry vs. TSA PreCheck: Which is more beneficial?

But the thought of a majority of travelers on a given day using the TSA PreCheck lanes might spark apprehension from some current members.

After all, for its 11-year existence, the program has largely been something of a "travel hack" — a shortcut through airport security and among the best tools travelers have to make their airport experience more seamless.

In the TSA chief's eyes, though, more TSA PreCheck-approved passengers mean more prevetted passengers passing through airports. This is helpful for security and in clearing a larger portion of the traveling public to pass through checkpoints with the efficiency TSA PreCheck offers.

Won't TSA PreCheck get slower if more and more people enroll?

"We will put whatever effort we need to ensure that wait time for PreCheck stays at 10 minutes or less," Pekoske said.

Look no further, he pointed out, than wait times officers kept manageable during a summer travel rush that saw each of the agency's 10 busiest days of all time.

Related: 8 ways to get free or discounted TSA PreCheck, Global Entry and Clear

Exactly how will the agency accommodate half (or more) of passengers on any given day using the TSA PreCheck lanes in the future? It's simple, according to Pekoske.

"We'll open up more PreCheck lanes and close standard lanes," he said.

Related: US connections after some international flights to get a lot easier

Speaking to TPG in a wide-ranging interview last week in Washington, D.C., Pekoske also offered clarity regarding criticism of the agency's