TSA Expedites Security Checks With New Test Program

By Nadine Arroyo Rodriguez / Senior Field Correspondent

Published February 8, 2012 at 11:47 AM PST

This story was published more than 12 years ago.

Frequent flyers to get a fast pass

Faster Airport Security Checks With New Test Program

A new program at major metropolitan airports will let passengers breeze through the security line -- but only they qualify.

The new security screening program is being tested at five airports across the country, including Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Only frequent flyers on major airlines are eligible to participate by registering with the Transportation Security Administration.

The initiative allows passengers to walk through a designated lane without removing their shoes and belts and skip other screening steps.

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Nico Melendez is a spokesperson for the TSA. “If there are some passengers out there that we have more information on, we know they probably aren’t the threat that we’re looking for," he said. "So if we can make the haystack smaller and make it easier for us to look for that needle, then we’re gonna do it.”

The pilot program will be tested in 20 additional airports this year, including Phoenix and Houston.

Nadine Arroyo Rodriguez

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Nadine is a Senior Field Correspondent (Phoenix) who focuses on stories throughout the southwest and issues that directly affect Arizona’s Latino community. She is an Emmy-nominated journalist and a Telly Award winner. She is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism and earned a Masters in Education from Northern Arizona University. She comes from a lengthy background in communications. Her broadcasting career includes Arizona’s PBS station KAET-TV. She was a producer and correspondent for the public affairs programs Horizon and Horizonte. While in Chicago, she hosted on-air bilingual pledge drives for WTTW Channel 11 (PBS), making her the only bilingual pledge host at the time. She was a general assignment reporter for Tribune Company’s ChicagoLand Television News, Univision affiliate WCIU-TV Channel 26 and WYCC-TV. She also worked for Comiskey Park (now U.S. Cellular Field), the home of the Chicago White Sox and United Center (Chicago Bulls) Scoreboard Operations. She co-produced a bilingual television parenting program on both Chicago’s Telemundo and WYCC-TV Channel 20. Aside from her broadcasting career, she served in various roles in public relations, community outreach, and marketing. Her extensive public sector experience extends to several departments of the City of Chicago, Mayor’s Advisory Council on Latino Affairs, and the U.S. Congress. Other professional experience includes Vice President of Community Outreach for the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee. Currently, she mentors and teaches public radio writing and reporting to inner city students and participates in journalism workshops for high school students throughout the Phoenix area. Her goal is to teach journalism in a higher education institution, while continuing her mentorship initiative. She was born in Puerto Rico to Puerto Rican and Belgian parents, and raised on Chicago’s southside in La Villita (a predominantly Mexican community). This diverse background taught her valuable lessons in various Latino cultures and informs her insight into issues of great interest to Latino families and business community.

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