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TSA Failed to Plan for PreCheck’s Popularity, Watchdog Says

  • Inspector General describes backlog, staffing problems
  • TSA trying to enroll 25 million people by 2019 in PreCheck
Passengers stand in the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) pre-check line at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia.

Passengers stand in the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) pre-check line at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

The Transportation Safety Administration failed to plan for the popularity of its PreCheck program, causing staffing headaches and a backlog of paperwork, according to a new report.

In an effort to enroll 25 million people in the program by 2019, TSA launched an extensive marketing campaign and opened additional enrollment centers but did not have a process in place to review all the applications, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General said in a report.