Speedy Screening At More Airports Urged

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International is among several airports that have been testing a pilot program that the Homeland Security Department wants to place at other airports. The program is designed to speed sreening of pre-approved, low-risk air travelers.

The goal is to bring the Global Entry program to most
international airports in the country.

For more than a year, the department has been testing the
program at seven airports across the U.S. The effort cuts the
average waiting time for participants to be screened from 10
minutes to three.

The Global Entry program would be open to U.S. citizens and
permanent residents at least 14 years old. They would have to pay a $100 fee and undergo a background check.

Eventually, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency plans to expand the program to include foreign travelers whose countries have an acceptable prescreening process. For instance, people from the Netherlands who take part in that country's Privium program have been accepted into the pilot program.

The program will begin at the seven airports testing the pilot
program. Those are New York's Kennedy International, Houston's George Bush, Washington's Dulles, Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson, Chicago's O'Hare, Los Angeles International and Miami International