I know not everyone is the road warrior traveler I am and for that, most of you can thank you lucky stars. I will freely admit that my tolerance of infrequent flyers is fully dependent on how tight my connection is and how long the security line has grown.
It doesn’t take much to spot the newbies. They look around nervously. Keep an eye on the others around them to see if they can pick up a hint of what to do next. My annoyance meter pegs when I get behind someone wearing laced up boots, layers of clothing and packing oversized liquids stuffed in a gallon baggy. And if I have to explain why any of that is an issue, well, you are likely an offender.
But I digress.
TSA is finally catching on that there are those among us who know the rules coming and going and perhaps (emphasis on “perhaps”) have earned a little trust.
Larger airports now have “experienced travelers” lines for those who travel for a living to avoid being behind the newbies. Sadly, on any given Monday morning, those ET lines are longer than the regular ones.
My new favorite tool is Global Entry. I plunked down the $$ to pay for this privilege and it is worth every dime. Global Entry allows an international passenger to by-pass those long customs lines when re-entering the country. You know the ones. The ones where 20 international flights arrive at the same time so customs can limit the schedule of how long their agents have to sit there stamping passports.
Global Entry lets you go to the side, put your passport on a scanner, place your hand on a pad (yes, you get finger printed for this) and thing click off questions on a screen and then move along. No long line, no annoying little blue customs form to fill out.
And if you’ve done carry on, you are out of the airport before the pilots. Love it!
http://www.globalentry.gov
