When will Sky Harbor get security pre-check enrollment center?

• PreCheck status allows passengers to go through the security checkpoint without extensive screening
• The TSA began selling PreCheck status to approved travelers in December
• PreCheck costs $85 per person for five years; passengers must be U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents

W hen he came to Phoenix in January to promote the expedited screening program at airports called TSA PreCheck, Transportation Security Administration chief John Pistole said travelers would see an enrollment center at Sky Harbor International Airport by spring.

The busy summer travel season is more than half over and the PreCheck center planned for baggage claim in Terminal 4 is still at least a couple of months from opening.

This at a time when the TSA is opening airport enrollment centers at a good clip across the country, most recently adding Denver, San Francisco, Orlando, St. Louis, and Palm Beach, Fla. There are two centers at the airports in Los Angeles and Atlanta.

TSA and airport officials blame the Phoenix delay on paperwork issues with the nationwide contractor for the centers, MorphoTrust USA. The company wasn't registered with the Arizona Corporation Commission and had to do so before the airport could submit the lease for the center to the City Council in Phoenix, which owns and operates Sky Harbor, for approval.

MorphoTrust registered in early June, according to commission records. The airport plans to ask the City Council for lease approval this month, airport spokeswoman Julie Rodriguez said.

"It's moving forward," said TSA spokeswoman Lorie Dankers, adding that snags have come up in other cities, too.

The Sky Harbor center will open later this year, she said.

PreCheck status gives travelers what amounts to a fast-pass through security. Passengers have a dedicated line at the security checkpoint and keep their shoes and jackets and belts on and electronics and liquids in their carry-ons during the security screening.

The PreCheck program began in late 2011 and until late last year was open only to invited frequent fliers, including members of government "trusted traveler" programs such as Global Entry.

The TSA began selling PreCheck status to approved travelers in December as part of what Pistole called the agency's gradual shift away from a one-size-fits-all security screening to a risk-based system that recognizes that the vast majority of travelers that pass through the checkpoint every day are not terrorists.

Other efforts on that front have included allowing children 12 or younger and adults 75 or older to keep their shoes on when going through security.

The TSA also is sending an increasing number of travelers of all ages through the PreCheck lanes for free on a flight-by-flight basis. All have been deemed low-risk.

Pistole calls the occasional access to PreCheck a "free sample" of the program.

Travelers who want access to speedier security on a regular basis have to apply. The cost is $85 per person for five years. Passengers must be U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents and are subject to a "security-threat assessment" that includes a background check and fingerprinting. Travelers with convictions for criminal offenses, such as treason, racketeering, terrorism and murder, are ineligible. The TSA details all the disqualifying offenses and other restrictions onlineat tsa.gov/tsa-precheck.

Travelers approved for PreCheck have essentially been precleared as low-risk travelers, TSA's Dankers said.

Tempe business owner Walt Reams, 66, was sold on PreCheck after he was randomly granted access on a few flights. On one flight from Las Vegas to Phoenix after the giant Consumer Electronics Show, he zipped through security 35 minutes faster than a friend who didn't have PreCheck access.

"When you get used to doing that you don't want to do anything else," he said.

Reams and his wife, Mary, signed up for PreCheck in mid-July. They went to what the TSA calls a universal enrollment center, in Gilbert. There are nearly 300 such centers across the country, all of which handle other Department of Homeland Security screening programs, as well as employment screening and other services for businesses.

The Gilbert location, operated by a contractor called EMSI Med-Ex Paramedical Inc, added PreCheck enrollment services to its lineup in February and has become one of the busiest off-airport PreCheck enrollment centers in the country, according to the TSA.

More than 5,000 travelers have enrolled in PreCheck in Gilbert, Dankers said.

Nationally, 430,370 passengers have signed up for PreCheck since December.

Dankers said travelers who apply for PreCheck usually find out within five to seven days whether they have been approved. Reams, who called the $85 cost reasonable, is most looking forward to being able to keep his cowboy boots on when he goes through security.

"I haven't even been wearing them because it's a hassle to take them off."

Gilbert location - 5,026

Nationally - 430,370

TSA PreCheck by the numbers

430,370

passengers enrolled since the TSA began taking applications in December.

5,026

travelers enrolled at a Gilbert enrollment center since February.

28

airport enrollment centers across the U.S.

277

off-airport enrollment centers nationwide, including one each in Gilbert, Tucson, Kingman and Flagstaff.

How PreCheck works

What: An expedited security-screening service available at 119 U.S. airports for travelers on most major airlines. Participants have a dedicated security lane and don't have to take off their shoes, belts or light coats. They also can leave laptops and approved liquids in their carry-on bags.

Who is eligible: Until December, only invited frequent fliers of participating airlines and members of a government "trusted traveler" program were eligible. The government is now accepting applications for the program as well as selecting passengers on a flight-by-flight basis.

Cost: Travelers who enroll in PreCheck pay $85 for five years. Passengers selected for PreCheck by the TSA on their boarding pass or at the airport do not pay a fee.

Details: tsa.gov/tsa-precheck.

Where to enroll in Arizona

Gilbert: 201 W. Guadalupe Road, Suite 302.

Tucson: 3360 S. Palo Verde Road.

Flagstaff: Northland Investigations, 3009A N. West St.

Kingman: 3100 Gatlin Drive, Suite B.

For more details and other locations around the country, go to universalenroll.dhs.gov/locator.

On the beat

Dawn Gilbertson covers consumer travel for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com.

How to reach her

dawn.gilbertson@arizonarepublic.com

Phone: 602-444-8617

Twitter: @dawngilbertson