There’s good news for Canadians flying home on Porter Airlines.

Porter Airlines has joined the TSA PreCheck program, enabling its passengers to enjoy the benefits of expedited airport security screening at designated checkpoints when travelling from the U.S. Expedited screening may allow passengers to keep on shoes, belts, and light outerwear, as well as leave laptops and compliant liquids in carry-on baggage.

In this age of airport hassles and long security lines, that’s a significant change for the better for thousands of folks heading to Canada from American destinations.

“TSA PreCheck allows our passengers to have an even quicker airport experience when departing from the U.S.,” said Robert Deluce, president and CEO of Porter Airlines. “This is especially true when matched with the convenient arrival process found at our home airport, Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.”

When the TSA PreCheck symbol is displayed on a boarding pass, passengers may use designated screening checkpoints. In March 2018, 93 per cent of TSA PreCheck passengers waited less than five minutes to clear security.

I use it whenever I can and would say most waits are only a minute or two. Often even less.

All members of Global Entry or the TSA PreCheck Application Program are eligible for TSA PreCheck screening. Canadian citizens enrolled in NEXUS are also eligible, as are U.S. citizens or U.S. lawful permanent residents who are members of NEXUS or SENTRI. Complete enrollment and eligibility requirements for trusted traveller programs are available from the Department of Homeland Security.

Passengers making reservations should provide their trusted traveller membership number or PASS ID, also referred to as a Known Traveller Number (KTN), in the designated online field of their reservation, when speaking with Porter’s call centre or to their travel agent. The KTN may also be entered in a VIPorter frequent flyer profile, where it will be stored for future reservations made directly from individual profiles.

TSA PreCheck is overseen by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Program enrollment does not guarantee expedited screening. TSA will always incorporate random and unpredictable security measures throughout the airport and all passengers are screened.

"Porter carried more than 450,000 passengers from the U.S. to Canada last year,” said Porter spokesman Brad Cicero. “A significant portion of this number are already eligible for TSA PreCheck and can benefit immediately from quicker security screening when leaving the U.S."