The current Trusted Traveler pilot program, current in place at Atlanta, Dallas, Detroit, and Miami airports for passengers of American and Delta airlines, has gone so well that the government will expand the program to include additional airports and travelers. Under the current program, eligible participants are able to forgo some of the banalities of checkpoint searches, including taking off shoes and jackets, and removing computers from carry-on bags.

The exact timeframe for the expanded pilot program has not yet been announced according to Transportation Security Administrator John Pistole.

“This new screening system holds great potential to strengthen security while significantly enhancing the travel experience, whenever possible, for passengers,” Pistole said in a prepared statement at a hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

The current pre-screening pilot program is part of an attempt to deploy a risk-based, intelligence-driven passenger screening program as opposed to the one-size-fits-all security screening that is currently in place at airports in the U.S.

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