You know the drill. Your international flight arrives at your connecting airport. You clear customs and get your bag. But you’re not done – you still have a connecting flight to reach your final destination. So you recheck your bags and go through security again before you go on your merry way to your next flight.
It’s stupid. And the whole thing is super inefficient because it means extra time at your connecting airport, which means you have to allow that extra time when figuring out your flights from Point A to Point B to Point C. You’d think there’s gotta be a better way, right? Well, apparently the U.S. and U.K. governments think so too, because they’re piloting a way for travelers to skip that extra step at your connecting airport.
The Washington Post reports that Congress has authorized the TSA to develop a new program called One-Stop Security at six airports across the country. The program allows travelers to skip the whole “collect and recheck luggage, then go through security after arriving from an international flight” before connecting to their domestic flight.
The program is called One-Stop because fliers are screened at their departure airport. So they only have to make that one stop. Skift reported in September 2024 that this program was in development.
It’s sort of similar to the Preclearance programs that are already set up in Abu Dhabi, Aruba, Bermuda, Canada (Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Winnipeg), Ireland (Dublin, Shannon), and Nassau. With Preclearance, travelers then bypass CBP and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) inspections upon U.S. arrival and proceed directly to their connecting flight or destination.
The pilot program started in February, on select flights from DFW and ATL to the UK. That’s when the TSA and the U.K. Department for Transport began offering the process for travelers who were on flights from ATL and DFW and transiting through London’s Heathrow Airport Terminal 3. Participating passengers on these flights traveling to a third country don’t have to clear U.K. customs or security at Heathrow, and their luggage is transferred automatically.
American Airlines and Delta Air Lines are participating in the program on this side of the pond, while British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways participate on the other. The program benefits about 100 passengers per day.
Delta spokesperson Jessica Merrill told WaPo that the availability of One-Stop Security for flights from Atlanta has cut connection times at Heathrow by 30 to 40 minutes.
The other four airports that will participate in the pilot program haven’t yet been announced. Expansion of flights in the other direction, to the U.S., is expected to begin this summer.
If successful, the program could expand to additional routes, airlines, airports and countries. Sadly, it’s probably not something that could be used for every country; some countries are less intense with their pre-flight security, and countries that do participate in ensuring their passengers are safe would still want to screen people arriving from those countries before transiting. However, for countries with mutual respect for each other’s safety techniques, it could be a boon for those traveling to/from those places.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
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