Speeding through lines at the airport

More than 10 years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks completely altered the airport experience, travelers have a variety of options that will shorten wait times at security and immigration. But speedier processing has some downsides. Some programs charge a fee, and all require surrendering such personal information as employment background, travel history and biological data like fingerprints.

Still, the days in which every passenger is treated as a potential terrorist are over. As John Pistole, administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, said recently, “Most passengers do not pose a threat to security,” confirming what travelers have been saying for years.

The agency’s spokesman, Greg Soule, described the procedures already in effect at some airports as “complicated and a little bit difficult to explain in just a few sentences.” Here is a guide to some of the options that will save you some time.

Global Entry

Best for people who travel internationally several times a year. Cost: $100 Global Entry is run by the Customs and Border Protection agency. The program allows travelers to re-enter the United States with a quick stop at an electronic kiosk rather than wait in lengthy lines for an interview with an immigration agent.

Applicants fill out an online questionnaire that takes about 15 minutes to complete and includes consent to a background check. There are questions about addresses, employment and travel — past and present. After hitting the submit button, the officials on the other end do a criminal background check and, if approved, an in-person meeting with an agent follows.

Mine was scheduled for three weeks after my provisional acceptance, which I received just hours after applying. I went to the Customs House in Manhattan, the only off-airport site for interviews, where my fingerprints were taken and I was photographed. (All 24 airports where Global Entry is in place can also process applications.) Nothing in my background qualified me for closer scrutiny, but sometimes agents do feel the need to ask whether an applicant has had any customs or immigration issues in the past.

By summer, Global Entry will be operating at 26 domestic airports and five in Canada. Membership is open to legal U.S. residents and citizens of Mexico, Canada and the Netherlands.

Information: globalentry.gov

TSA Precheck

Best for members of American and Delta frequent flier programs. Cost: Free The upside of PreCheck, the TSA’S trusted traveler program, is that it is free. The downside is that it is open by invitation only to frequent fliers on just two airlines: American and Delta. This is not some secret club; these were the first two airlines to adapt their passenger information systems to communicate with the agency’s secure flight database. Members must give the airline permission to share information from their frequent flier accounts with the TSA.

What information is that? The agency won’t say. But whatever it is, Soule says it is enough for the agency to do a risk analysis.

“It’s nothing more than what would be provided as part of the frequent flier program,” he said.

Nevertheless, the traveler’s eligibility is assessed anew for every flight.

Alaska, US Airways and United are currently working to coordinate their passenger information systems with the TSA.

“We’ve been working with all of the airlines to encourage participation,” Soule said.

At present, PreCheck operates at a dozen airports, including Hartsfield-jackson International Airport. By the end of the year, Precheck is scheduled to be in 35 airports.

I’m a frequent flier on American and Delta, but my invitation must have gotten caught in my spam filter. No matter. Like all 235,000 members of Global Entry, I’m automatically enrolled in Precheck. I’m anticipating an expedited stroll through a special security checkpoint — one in which I get to keep my shoes on and my laptop stowed.

It is not a sure thing, however. I’ll have to depart not just from one of the select airports but also from a terminal where space allows the TSA to set up a Precheck line. I’ll know it when I see the agency logo, and the absence of a line.

Information: www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/ escreening.shtm

Clear

Best for frequent users of the Orlando, and Denver airports. Cost: $179 annually If the TSA program sounds a bit too unpredictable, there is a nongovernmental alternative. Clear, a private traveler registration company based in New York, promises reduced wait times to travelers by selling them identity cards backed up with iris scans and fingerprints.

Clear members register by showing a government ID at one of the company’s seven offices in the United States and Britain and having their prints and iris scans taken and entered into a database. Clear isn’t “clearing” anyone; it’s just issuing a chip-enhanced card that links travelers’ identities to their biometrics.

With the card, Clear members have basically automated the identity check process. At airports with Clear card readers, passengers can bypass the TSA boarding card checker and pass, in a matter of seconds, to the regular security screening. The process, start to finish, should take five minutes or less, according to the company. Clear is being offered in Orlando, Denver and, soon, San Francisco.

Information: clearme.com/home

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