First International TSA PreCheck Location Has Opened

by SharonKurheg

Those who have TSA PreCheck will tell you that it’s probably the best travel-related $85 (and now just $70 for renewals!) they’ve ever spent. As a vetted “known traveler,” people with TSA PreCheck get all sorts of convenient benefits, on top of saving countless minutes by being able to “skip the line” at 200+ airports across the U.S.

The thing is, you get spoiled by PreCheck. You get to skip the line here, but if you go to another country and are taking a flight back to the U.S., you still have to go on the regular lines again.

Well, until now.

The TSA announced late last week that, for the first time in the agency’s history, they’re extending their PreCheck program to an international location.

TSA’s expedited screening program has been piloting at Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) in Nassau, Bahamas since August 4, 2021. But as of February 24, it’s now a permanent thing.

Nassau is already one of the 16 international preclearance airports in 6 countries that have U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel on hand to inspect travelers before boarding flights to the U.S. With this update, visitors who have TSA PreCheck will be streamlined for an even shorter wait for their flight back to the States. That’s a great thing since LPIA is the fourth busiest airport in the Caribbean.

During a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the LPIA U.S. Preclearance screening checkpoint last week, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments, and Aviation, the Honourable Chester Cooper, hosted TSA Regional Director, Karen Hanlon, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Usha Pitts, and other key stakeholders in the tourism, aviation, and transportation sectors, to celebrate the momentous occasion.

“This has been an excellent partnership throughout the trial period at Lynden Pindling International Airport, and it serves as a model for further extending TSA PreCheck. Permanently opening this TSA PreCheck lane for travelers who join the risk-based program is a credit to the Government of The Bahamas and the commitment of the officers who are maintaining the highest standards of transportation security,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske.

According to a press release from the U.S. Embassy in the Bahamas, TSA PreCheck will make The Bahamas an even more attractive destination for Americans, who comprise over 80 percent of all inbound tourists.

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9 comments

rick sachs February 28, 2022 - 1:29 pm

Well it’s a start. Maybe several airports in Mexico are being looked at.

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No nope March 1, 2022 - 10:51 pm

This would be great! I’m down there almost monthly throughout the year. Now what would be sweet is if Mexico had a global entry program.

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Barbara Andre March 1, 2022 - 11:07 am

It is another waste of Tax payers money. We have Custom and Border Protection for all international arrivals, why add another body. Again, waste by the government to add more taxes.

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Carol Ann Cairnes March 1, 2022 - 12:48 pm

Barbara, do you know what a tsa precheck is? They are not wasting tax payers money. I have been overseas and have seen the long lines. The only reason that I wasn’t in those long lines even with a TSA precheck is because I was in a wheelchair.

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Cheslavo F Korytkowski March 2, 2022 - 3:41 pm

Why you have to pay for a service already paid with iur taxes? TSA expenses are fully funded by the government, aka our taxes; pre-check should be free of charge for those frequent travelers…this is another sample of a broken system where you have to okay for everything you get from a government whom already took a nice chunk of your salary

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SharonKurheg March 2, 2022 - 4:00 pm

Because to get PreCheck status, they have to vet people. That’s an expense not covered by regular TSA.

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Barbara Andre March 1, 2022 - 3:41 pm

I also have traveled extensively and have lived overseas so I know the long lines. What I should have said is with US Customs in preclearance, they should continue to do the same job. Do we really need another agency doing the same job?

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No nope March 1, 2022 - 10:53 pm

tsa and customs are two different agencies.

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Brian Spector March 13, 2022 - 7:48 pm

My wife and I have pre Check and Global Entry. They are well worth the cost.

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