The Transportation Security Administration has acknowledged the PreCheck program is losing its shine with travelers and is coming up with new ideas to make it easier to sign up.
The agency is looking at measures to simplify enrolments such as on-site PreCheck stations at airports.
It is also mulling shorter membership validity periods of less than the current five years and the ability to pay the $85 fee in annual instalments, TSA acting deputy administrator Patricia Cogswell told USA Today.
"We want to get people into the program, and so, we’d like to make it easier."
"Let’s look at a couple different options to see if they’re feasible,’ and if they’re not, then at least we looked at it,” said Cogswell.
Currently the program has 8.54 million PreCheck members, which is way down on the targeted numbers of five million enrolments a year it predicted when it launched in 2013.
The agency says most TSA PreCheck members get through expedited security in five minutes or less on average and pre-vetted members are allowed to keep on their shoes, belts and laptops in bags.
A new bill may soon make it easier for disabled veterans to pass through security screening much quicker.
It would extend TSA PreCheck privileges to veterans who are blind paralyzed, or amputees.
