Pack your bags, fam.
Transportation Security Administration checkpoints are expanding for families traveling with children and military members, the Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday.
Under a program dubbed “Families on the Fly,” TSA will add a family lane at security checkpoints, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said at a press conference at Nashville International Airport, per CNN.
A pilot program was tested in Orlando due to its close proximity to Disney World, and it will start its rollout in locations where families travel with children often.
“There will be expanded areas that will give them the benefit of recognizing that they have children with them and will help make sure that we have the ability to take care of them and their families as they go through this expedited process with their kiddos,” Noem said.
Families who enroll in TSA PreCheck will also get a $15 discount.
Additionally, a dedicated lane for uniformed military members, called the Honor Lane — which is already available at 11 different airports — will be expanded nationwide.
Initiatives announced earlier this month included providing access to PreCheck free of charge for Gold Star families, the immediate family members of a service member who died as a result of active-duty military service, which Noem highlighted at the press conference.
Military spouses will also be offered an enrollment discount of $25 for PreCheck, and mobile units will be sent to military bases to get people signed up.
Current military members and civilian Department of Defense staff already have access to PreCheck when they include their DOD ID number as their known traveler number when making an airline reservation.
“We want everybody to know that we’re extremely grateful for their service to our country and recognize the sacrifice that their families have made,” she said.
The new expansions come shortly after the announcement that TSA will no longer require passengers to remove their shoes at agency checkpoints — even if you don’t have TSA PreCheck.
Noem also suggested that she is pushing the TSA to ease up on its liquids, aerosols, and gels rule.
“Remember, every single thing that happens at a checkpoint today is being evaluated,” Noem said.
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