AAA Mid-Atlantic Hosts TSA Pre✓® Pop-up Event in Brandywine, MD

WASHINGTON, D. C. (Thursday, January 28, 2021) –– As travel planning is underway for 2021, AAA Mid-Atlantic is offering help for those who want to minimize contact at the airport during future trips. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, and ensuing dramatic changes in checkpoint operations due to the pandemic, some 324 million airline passengers were screened at airport security checkpoints across the United States during 2020. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, TSA Pre✓® travelers will have a measure of peace of mind in the security checkpoint environment.

In terms of the latest Air Traveler Throughput totals, TSA agents screened 468,933 airline passengers at airports across the nation on Tuesday, January 26, 2021. This compares to 1,643,435 passengers on the same weekday during 2020, reports the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). To enhance their airport and air travel experiences, Americans planning to board domestic flights and fly to their destinations in the United States should enroll in the TSA Pre✓® program without delay. To this end, the upcoming TSA Pre✓® event at AAA will make it easier to sign up for the screening program. Once air travelers pre-enroll at AAA, it provides them the benefits of an expedited process at the security checkpoints at participating airports, it minimizes contact, and most importantly, for safety’s sake during a time of the pandemic, it helps to reduce health risks at airport security checkpoints. Plus, it empowers you to speed through airport checkpoints for the next five years.

“For the foreseeable future, safe travel will be about way more than taking shortcuts through security checkpoint lines at the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the Washington Dulles International Airport and more than 200 other airports across the United States,” said Michael Carter, Retail Manager, AAA Car Care Insurance & Travel Center, Brandywine. “It also means minimizing the number of contacts you and your belongings encounter along the journey.”

In 2020, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) “implemented significant operational changes across its entire security checkpoint environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic.” Amazingly, in December 2020, 100 percent of TSA PreCheck® passengers waited less than five minutes, notes the (TSA). Put simply, TSA Pre✓ makes airport travel easier. Here’s how, explains Carter:

• I can leave my laptop and 3-1-1 liquids in my shoulder bag.
• I can leave my shoes, jacket and belt on. No need to re-dress, I’m ready to travel.
• I can reclaim my piece-of-mind by breezing through security checkpoints with more ease and efficiency.
• Now, I have more time to lounge and checkout the various food and retail offerings in the terminal!

TSA Pre✓® is an expedited screening program that enables identified low-risk air travelers to enjoy a smart and efficient screening experience. With the IdentoGO® Mobile Enrollment RV, AAA is bringing the TSA Pre✓® enrollment process to you! These AAA events with IdentoGo TSA Pre✓® agents will allow travelers to enroll for screening approval with ease. AAA members and the general public must pre-schedule appointments and pre-register to participate at the following AAA location:

AAA Brandywine Car Care Insurance Travel Center

16301 Crain Highway, Brandywine, Maryland 20613 (301) 909-9519

• Monday, February 15- Thursday, February 18, 9 a.m. -12 p.m. & 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.
• Friday, February 19, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.

The IdentoGo mobile van will be stationed at AAA Mid-Atlantic store parking areas for ease of access for participants. Enrollment agents are frequently sanitizing their hands and all surfaces of contact within the van and following strict guidelines including social distancing.

Appointments are limited and are available on a first-come, first-serve basis, so register as soon as possible. To complete the application process, you will need to bring documentation proving identity and citizenship status. Your name on the documents must match exactly. If they do not, bring an original or certified copy of a court ordered name change document (to include marriage certificates and divorce decrees).

If you have a valid U.S. passport, that is all you need for ID. You will finish the process onsite by providing your fingerprints for a background check. The application fee is $85 and can be paid by credit card, money order, company check, or certified/cashier's check. Cash and personal checks are not accepted.

Here’s how to get started:

1. Click here to access the application page
2. Click “Start Application Now”, then click “New Enrollment ”
3. Fill out Steps and choose “Next” at the bottom of each screen
4. Type in your location at Zipcode/City/Airport Code box – search
5. Choose the AAA location near you and click “Next”

To sign up for the TSA Pre✓® event at AAA, simply select your desired appointment time (Please be sure to make note of your appointment time; no reminders will be sent out). Mobile IdentoGO agents will process TSA Pre✓® applications on-site (https://www.identogo.com/precheck).

With TSA Pre✓®, travelers have no need to remove shoes, 3-1-1 liquids, laptops, light outerwear or belts. Today, TSA Pre✓® has more than 450 lanes at 200+ U.S. airports. TSA Pre✓® is valid for five years.

Between January 1 and December 31, 2020, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screened “a total of approximately 324 million passengers throughout its airport security checkpoints. That figure represents just 39 percent of the approximately 824 million total passengers screened in 2019.”

At this time, the TSA is planning to keep enrollment centers open where possible, and is working with the enrollment services provider to determine where temporary closures might be required during the COVID-19 emergency.*Children ages 12 and younger may use the TSA Pre✓® lane when traveling with a parent or guardian who has the indicator on their boarding pass. Travelers 13 and older without a TSA Pre✓® boarding pass must go through standard security lanes. For more event details, visit AAA’s website.