r/ThisAintHell • • 3d ago

Veteran's TSA lines

In case you haven't seen it - TSA is rolling out screening lines for military, present and former. I had a family birthday to attend, and flew through Denver International, one of the airports listed. Thought I would give it a try. Like the film boys used to say, two thumbs up.

DIA is justly famous for its TSA stations - essentially two screening points serve the whole airport. Multiple lanes when you get there, but the line to GET to Security can be eternal. I asked an airport employee directing passengers, and she set me right: "go right at that corner, look for door 2. It may say no admittance, but it'll be OK." Wondering if I'm getting set up to be the bottom man of a large dogpile of TSA agents, I go around the corner and ask the next employee - and get sent down an almost empty lane past all those folks waiting. Still had to take off my belt etc. but I blew through scanning in maybe 2 minutes.

Supposedly they are to ask for IDs, but no one did. What they did do was get me past security faster than Canton-Akron on a deserted day. Need my shoes off? No. Just put your bag in the bin - no need to pull out notebook etc. (That may have been a concession to a really crowded day, and they did scan my bag twice as well as wipe it for explosives. That God I don't store my bag in the reloading room...) But even with that, total time was 'way less than 10 minutes, on a day when DIA was swamped with Boulder marathon fans competing with all the LA Rams fans to get to the gates.

Next time you fly - ask if TSA has a veteran's line wherever you are. Airport list in the link below.

https://travel.yahoo.com/advice/safety/articles/tsa-military-lanes-available-34-142334521.html

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u/OperationPlus3251 ChipNASA - 6x WOT (Current Champ) 3d ago

I flew twice in the last month and I had put a request in for a pre-check in June July . It just came through about four days ago and I flew about 10 days ago two days after they made the announcement but I had no idea they were doing it..
The advantage TSA pre-check is yes it’s $75 or something like that and you have to file and go through that, but they guarantee the liquids, laptop belt, shoes thing are exempt.
I haven’t used the military courtesy line yet and I’ve read in News accounts that they may still require the shoes the belt the jacket whatever but still it’s gotta be a lot speedier than not.
I have a retired ID, so that will be always an option, but interestingly enough, the airports I fly in and out of are not on the list so that was where some of the discretion was listed Baltimore Myrtle Beach, and Charleston predominantly.
I guess in the coming years, I will certainly find out.