US border control continues to improve with the opening of the first co-located application site for TSA Pre and Global Entry. It is at Pittsburgh (PIT).
This joint TSA/CBP center will offer passengers in the Pittsburgh-area the option to choose a program that best fits their individual passenger needs.
TSA Pre✓™ and Global Entry provide an improved passenger experience, while enhancing security and increasing system-wide efficiencies. The Center is located on the ticketing level of the Landside terminal across from US Airways ticket counter.
“This is excellent news for our region’s frequent flyers. Pittsburgh International Airport continues to make our traveler’s needs a priority. Support from Pittsburgh business leaders was important to making this center a reality. Plus PIT now has two Global Entry kiosks at International Arrivals so travelers returning to the US can enter the country as efficiently as possible,” said David Minnotte, chairman, Allegheny County Airport Authority.
“Customs and Border Protection’s Global Entry trusted traveler program has become enormously popular since its inception as a pilot program in 2008. We’re enrolling 70,000 new applicants each month across the United States, and that enormous demand is very exciting to us,” said CBP Port Director Joseph Klaus, Port of Pittsburgh.
“To keep up with that demand, CBP continues to seek opportunities to create new enrollment centers closer to the traveling public. We are extremely pleased to now offer Steel City travelers and Allegheny County Airport Authority customers a convenient and efficient option to complete their Global Entry and TSA Pre✓™ membership interviews closer to home. This new joint enrollment center is proof of CBP’s and TSA’s continuing commitment to improve the air passenger experience.”
Location at Pittsburgh
The joint TSA/CBP application center is located in the landside terminal, ticketing level, just across from the US Airways/American Airlines ticket counter. From the airport parking lots, follow the overhead and display signs for TSA Pre✓™/Global Entry. The signage will point to a door with a “Department of Homeland Security” seal on it.
The TSA Pre✓™ application center is open weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Global Entry application center is open from 1:15 p.m. to 2:30 pm weekdays, except Wednesdays, when CBP will staff the enrollment center from 1:15 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Walk-in appointments for the TSA Pre✓™ application center will be honored on a first come, first served-basis; pre-enrollment at tsa.gov is recommended. Pre-enrollment for Global Entry is required.
TSA Pre✓™
TSA Pre✓™ allows low-risk travelers to experience faster, more efficient screening at 118 U.S. airports nationwide, including Pittsburgh International Airport. TSA Pre✓™ is an expedited screening program that allows pre-approved airline travelers to leave on their shoes, light outerwear and belt, keep their laptop in its case and their 3-1-1 compliant liquids/gels bag in a carry-on in select screening lanes.
The TSA Pre✓™ application program allows U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to directly enroll in TSA Pre✓™ without requiring a passport; the TSA Pre✓™ application program requires valid proof of citizenship/immigration eligibility.
Once approved, travelers will receive a “Known Traveler Number” and will have the opportunity to utilize TSA Pre✓™ lanes at select security checkpoints when flying on a participating carrier: Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, US Airways and Virgin America. Seven of these airlines serve Pittsburgh International Airport.
As always, TSA continues to incorporate random and unpredictable security measures throughout the airport and no individual will be guaranteed expedited screening.
This program requires an application fee of $85 for a five-year membership.
Global Entry
Upon arrival in the United States from abroad, Global Entry members are able to bypass the traditional CBP inspection lines and use an automated kiosk. Travelers scan their passport and fingerprints, answer the customs declaration questions using the kiosk’s touch screen and proceed with a receipt to the exit— the whole process takes only about one minute.
With more than 70,000 new applicants each month, an application center in Pittsburgh will allow the thousands of travelers living in and transiting through the area to complete their Global Entry interview and finalize their membership.
Launched June 6, 2008, as a pilot at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, and John F. Kennedy International Airport, Global Entry is now a permanent program and has 51 locations in the United States and at CBP pre-clearance stations in Canada. These locations serve 99 percent of incoming travelers to the United States.
CBP recently installed two Global Entry kiosks at Pittsburgh International Airport for travelers returning to the United States. Adding additional locations improves CBP’s ability to facilitate travelers’ enrollment into Global Entry as efficiently as possible.
In partnership with TSA, Global Entry participants are pre-eligible to participate in TSA Pre✓™. These participants do not need to apply separately for TSA Pre✓™, as they will receive their Known Traveler Number once successfully enrolled in the program.
Global Entry requires an application fee of $100 for a five-year membership. Candidates must first apply online. Applicants will be issued an appointment date and time to complete their in-person interview with a CBP officer at this new location at Pittsburgh International Airport.
