TSA PreCheck Opens Its First International Location

Travelers flying from Nassau, Bahamas, can now use their TSA PreCheck privileges to get through airport security faster when flying back to the U.S.

TSA PreCheck Opens Its First International Location

TSA PreCheck’s first international location is now up and running in the Bahamas.

Photo by LiliGraphie/Shutterstock

While it’s never easy leaving paradise, it will now be less of a headache for some travelers departing the Bahamas.

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently announced that it has opened its first TSA PreCheck location outside of the United States at Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau, Bahamas.

The nine-year-old fast-pass program provides low-risk travelers with an expedited screening process at more than 200 airports across the United States—and now Nassau. TSA PreCheck–approved passengers aren’t required to remove shoes, belts, travel-sized liquids, electronics, or light jackets. They have a dedicated security line that’s often much shorter (according to TSA, wait time for PreCheck passengers is less than five minutes 94 percent of the time).

It’s a move that signals the potential for more international PreCheck locations in the future. In a press release, TSA administrator David Pekoske said the Bahamas checkpoint will serve “as a model for further extending TSA PreCheck.”

Already, Nassau is one of 16 U.S. Customs and Border Protection international preclearance locations where personnel inspect travelers before boarding flights headed to the United States so that they don’t have to go through customs or TSA inspections upon arrival or before catching their connecting flight. While Bahama’s other airport, in Freeport, also has preclearance, TSA PreCheck isn’t currently offered there.

TSA PreCheck is available to U.S. citizens, nationals, and permanent residents and costs $85 for a five-year enrollment (though numerous travel-focused credit cards will waive the fee). Those who are interested must submit an online application and then schedule an in-person interview at an enrollment center that includes a background check and fingerprinting. More information is available on the TSA PreCheck website.

Other Department of Homeland Security Trusted Traveler programs, like Global Entry, are also eligible to use the PreCheck screening in Nassau. You can evaluate which program best suits you with the Department of Homeland Security trusted traveler comparison tool.

>> Next: 12 Credit Cards That Can Get You TSA PreCheck and Global Entry for Free

Bailey Berg is a freelance travel writer and editor, who covers breaking news, trends, tips, transportation, sustainability, the outdoors, and more. She was formerly the associate travel news editor at AFAR. Her work can also be found in the New York Times, the Washington Post, National Geographic, Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, the Points Guy, Atlas Obscura, Vice, Thrillist, Men’s Journal, Architectural Digest, Forbes, Lonely Planet, and beyond.
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