TSA to allow flight attendants to use faster security line

Flight attendants will soon be allowed to join pilots in using faster security checkpoints at airports across the country, the Transportation Security Administration announced Monday.

Since last year, pilots of commercial airlines have been allowed to bypass the extensive security checkpoints used by passengers to instead use faster screening points under a program known as the Known Crewmember initiative.

In an effort to speed screening for low-risk travelers, the TSA said Monday that it will expand the program to include flight attendants at 31 airports across the country by the end of the year.

“Flight crews, and flight attendants in particular, are the trusted first responders responsible for protecting the flying public,” said Laura Glading, president of the Assn. of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents 17,000 flight attendants at American Airlines. “TSA’s decision recognizes this fact while promoting increased efficiency in our industry and I applaud it.”

The first flight attendants should be able to switch over to the faster checkpoints by fall, the TSA said.

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