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Travelers Can Forego Taking Off Shoes at Some Airports for a Fee

tsa.gov

For a fee area travelers can now bypass taking off their shoes and removing laptops and liquids from their carry-on luggage with a new option for expedited airport security checks.

The TSA PreCheck program requires an $85 application and, if approved, lasts for five years for passengers flying through large airports like Memphis and Nashville. Memphis International Airport spokesperson Glen Thomas said PreCheck can be helpful.

“The simplest benefit is having a quicker way to get through security,” he said. “So if you have a group that’s going through in a quick and efficient fashion you really limit backups and delays and such.”

Applicants can pre-enroll online then take their application to an enrollment center, which includes one in downtown Paducah at Ensite on Broadway.

TSA PreCheck eligibility requirements include being a U.S. citizen, not having committed certain crimes and not being under a warrant. More information is available as the Transportation Security Administration’s website.

Whitney grew up listening to Car Talk to and from her family’s beach vacation each year, but it wasn’t until a friend introduced her to This American Life that radio really grabbed her attention. She is a recent graduate from Union University in Jackson, Tenn., where she studied journalism. When she’s not at WKMS, you can find her working on her backyard compost pile and garden, getting lost on her bicycle or crocheting one massive blanket.
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