TSA tests seismic shift in airport visitor's rule

0:00The days biggest stories, the people behind the headlines, the conversations you won't hear anywhere else. I'm Kristi Strasser, you're listening to Audisys on Deadline. We're marking the 25th anniversary of 9-11 this week, and one of the ways our lives changed is airport security. But is it about to return to the ways of old? Here's Vinita Socker in Minneapolis. It's coming back, okay? I want you to take a second here. And remember the days before 9-11. And some of the ease we had with air travel and things like that, obviously those things had to change. But I was so intrigued by this story. Remember for decades when we used to go through the airport security checkpoint. That was a point where now you have to say goodbye to your friends and family, and if only if you have a ticket can you get through it. The TSA is launching a new program for some people where you will be able to go past that point even if you don't have a ticket. A little explanation of this is Jessica Mealy with TSA, TSA spokesperson Good Morning, Jessica.

1:06I tell you a little bit more about it. This is a great program. We're rolling it out. It started a week ago, but you're right. It is just in the early pilot phase. We're trying it out at 13 airports across the country. And basically it is a benefit for our TSA pre-check members, where just as you said they can apply online one to three days in advance if they want to go through the checkpoint if they are not boarding a flight. Maybe they want to meet a friend, maybe they want to see someone off, maybe they just want to shop or eat at the restaurants. We know airports these days have a lot of cool stuff beyond the checkpoint. So yeah, we're trying this out and we're going to see how it goes. I think this is just great. What made you all what what BTSA decide to change the snow? To change this back to the way it used to be and start to give some access to people who don't have airline tickets. Yeah, you know, there has been just growing interest in this concept of gate passes over the last few years. There are airports that are kind of experimented and done their own thing, but I think we definitely saw that passengers were interested in it. And we realize that with our pre-check population, this is a pre-vetted population, this is

2:07a low risk population. It would be a good group of people to kind of try it out with and see how it goes. And you're starting, as you said, just sort of a trial basis with some of these airports like Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis. Omaha is one of them. That's the closest one to us Las Vegas, Los Angeles. When and I know little by little, you'll be adding more airports. Are you just going to evaluate how it goes in these airports first? Yeah, absolutely. So starting it off, we've only been doing it. We started it on September 1st. So a little over a week, but we're going to continue to see how it goes. Yeah, I mean, I think we're optimistic that it's successful and we'll be able to continue to add more eventually. So a weekend, are many people taking advantage of this? We don't have any data yet. I think that we'll be interesting to see, especially, kind of which airports people are most excited to use it at. But definitely, it isn't use and it's going well. Every airport is a little bit different both in what the airport is like and then sort of what the customer base or the passenger demand is there.

3:08So I think we're going to definitely, and this is what's great about TSA, is that we have local officials in every airport who have great relationships with airport stakeholders and airport directors and airlines so they kind of know what the situation is on the ground. So those conversations are ongoing, but I could definitely see again if the program is going well elsewhere, there would be interest from other airports and saying, hey, can we bring this here in the future? And do you ever anticipate it moving beyond TSA-precht pre-check customers? That's another thing that's too soon to tell. You know, again, we are really cognizant we would never want something like this to overload operations. We don't want people who are actually waiting in line for flights to have so many people asked for people there that it's kind of increasing weight times or anything like that. So we do limit the number of gate passes we issue in these airports. And yeah, I think, again, like right now, I think it's just kind of a smart move because we can keep this to the pre-check population and that directs all of those passengers to pre-check lanes, which is another really important factor. Okay, where can people get more information? Jessica, I'm so intrigued by this because I remember those days of being able to go and

4:09welcome someone at the gate, which is kind of fun. Where can people get more info? Yeah, start at TSA.gov. Again, you do need to give yourself one to three days in advance. It's not something where you could go on and be like, hey, I want to go to the airport an hour because we do put you in our system. You don't get a boarding pass on your phone per se, but you do register, give us your known traveler number, which is again, part of your TSA pre-check profile. And then when you go up to the check point, you present your ID. It needs to be an acceptable form of ID, either a real ID or a passport, the same way you would present if you flow. And then, you know, we'll scan it. We'll see that you're in your in our gate pass system. You'll get screened the same way everybody else does. You can't bring prohibited items. You can't bring oversized liquids. But once you're through, you can go enjoy the airport. Okay. If you're traveling this fall, it may be connected to sports. Here's Rob Hart in Chicago with a new trend. Once turn away games, fantasy drafts and major events into full scale destination weekends joining us to discuss is Angie Rice, co-founder of boutique travel advisors based in Scotts

5:12Daily, Arizona. Now that the NFL schedule is out and the season is opening, people are planning road trip vacations. And you got to deal with the law of supply and demand when it comes to pricing out a road trip vacation. Absolutely. This is a growing niche in travel. And we're finding that some of the sports team that have high ticket dollar seats like going to a Lakers game or catching a San Francisco 49ers game. Those are an expensive ticket. So instead, people are building trips around the road schedules for their favorite teens. And then the airlines probably know this too. So chances are the carriers out of Chicago know there will be a premium on o'haar flights to all of the bears destination cities during the season. Right. So you might want to also investigate those destinations that are drivable as well. Now what's interesting here is that going on a road trip with your favorite team just

6:12to see the bears in Detroit, for example, or Green Bay or maybe if they're going to a warm weather city in December, that makes sense and that has been around for a very long time. But the fantasy football road trip turning that into a friend's weekend, that seems like a fairly new thing. Absolutely. And it's a creative way to experience connection with your friends. I know of teams that are built and have been around. So these fantasy teams from college days, so people that have been friends for 20 plus years. And what's great is that they're exploring some off the beaten path destinations across our country, primarily for affordability and most of these fantasy teams meet before the season, right? So we've planned trips to Knoxville, Tennessee, Steamboat, Colorado. So it's truly an opportunity to build a travel experience where you can connect with old and new friends and also be able to accomplish your fantasy draft.

7:13I have friends who have run the Tokyo marathon and have turned that into a week long adventure. That same friend ran Boston several years ago and that turned into a weekend in Boston. And that is turning your marathon experience into a vacation. Absolutely. There's something appealing about anticipating that marathon, but also the destination where that marathon will occur. And there's so many festivities that are built around marathon. It really is a culture. I was a marathon runner myself back in the days. I experienced and part of the planning process was where was I going to run that marathon? We ran races in San Diego, Vancouver. I ran the Chicago marathon. But the highlight of those experiences was reconnecting with other runners and people that you met, whether it's on social networks or it's friends across the country that are also runners from your college days, places that you've lived throughout your life. So it's really fun to create experiences and to bring people together, family and friends

8:17around a common interest, whether that's an activity like running or cross training or watching your favorite sport. The most common experience for parents right now is you build a vacation around a youth sports event. I love that it creates a new dynamic for families, but you're absolutely right. If you're investing all of these dollars into whether it's traveling to Orlando or somewhere else, you might as well add those extra days. Speaking of travel, it's important to be hyper aware of your surroundings on the road. A New York State trooper fills WBN in on new rules. New York State trooper James O'Callahan is with us. Buses are on the road again. We all need those reminders trooper on how to share the road. What's the biggest mistake drivers make at this time of year? Unfortunately, when the reds are going on, when kids are offloading or getting on, we're seeing a 25% increase in passing a school bus tickets from year 23 to 25.

9:18That's New York State police deaths and it's even higher in some districts depending on law enforcement agencies. That's alarming. I don't think enough people leave themselves enough time when school starts. We have a lot of new operators on the roadway. I was with Mickey Kerns yesterday and we're both talking about how over the summer, a lot of people get their permits and then they do their finalized license to get their class D and then their brand new drivers on the road. We have a lot of new drivers going to school. We have a lot of colleges or in session where we sit back to school, we're thinking school buses in high school, but we also have college. We have that amount of traffic on the road. The school buses are the big one and fortunately, we do see a lot of people pass buses. We get a lot of moms, dads, uncles, parents watching kids, putting out kids on the bus that call 911 because there's a repetitive vehicle passing buses. Try and get a plate number the best you can. We work well with the school districts. We work well with the busing garages to try and find and track down people who do this.

10:22I think it personally, my daughter almost got hit by a bus a few years back getting off. We put this in the most high of regards. We're going to school, like I said, toppers are flown in from other countries and then work their shift. Troopers are from the area which they patrol. Their kids go to school here, they're part of the community. We want to make it the best and safest community we can. So you will absolutely believe that we'll be out there looking for people that would try to harm a child by passing a bus. Thank you for listening to this special presentation of Odyssey's On Deadline. Subscribe to the daily podcast on your favorite platform.