In recent months, there haven’t been many positive developments surrounding airport security in the US. After all, it was only a few weeks ago that the partial government shutdown led to major backups in many of the busiest centers in the country.
But we have some good news to share: one of the best new security shortcuts is now widely available at airports across the country.
The new TSA PreCheck Touchless ID program is officially available at more than 60 airports nationwide.
At the end of last month, in the midst of all the chaos at the checkpoint – The Transportation Security Administration quietly concluded an aggressive rollout of hands-free and fast-track security lanes.
The TSA map below shows all the airports where the program is now available:
Rapid expansion in 2026
Until just a few months ago, TSA PreCheck Touchless ID was only available at a short list of major centers.
But in January, TPG reported The TSA was poised to rapidly expand service to 50 additional U.S. airports by the spring. And despite a months-long partial government shutdown (which is still technically ongoing), the TSA did, in fact, meet that goal.
As shown on the map, the service is now available at almost all major hubs, as well as a significantly larger range of mid-sized airports, from the busiest in the world to Jacksonville, Boise and Albuquerque airports.
Personally, I was happy to see the technology go live in recent weeks at my local airport, Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) in North Carolina.
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What is TSA PreCheck contactless ID?
TSA PreCheck Touchless ID is available at no additional cost to everyone TSA Precheck members and travelers accessing TSA PreCheck lanes through a Global Entry affiliation.
Read more: Best Credit Cards for Global Entry and TSA PreCheck
These separate lanes allow travelers to skip the normal TSA PreCheck line and avoid pulling out their boarding pass or ID; instead, the TSA verifies passengers’ identities through a quick photo.
It’s a similar experience to using the paid Clear service, but again, there’s no additional cost beyond the TSA PreCheck (or Global Entry) application fee you pay every five years.
For many travelers across the country, these lanes were among the best “tricks” to avoid long lines when wait times were overflowing at the height of the closure.
The program is optional, but you must sign up in advance through your airline profile. Learn more about how to do that. here.
Important details you should know
Even if you opt in and your departure airport is listed as having the service, don’t automatically assume you’ll be able to access TSA PreCheck Touchless ID.
While the new express lanes are now in more than 60 airports, the TSA notes that the option is not available in all terminals at all hubs.
For that reason, you must still bring a valid Real ID or an approved alternative to the airport for your flight. (Also, I’ve had many cases where I arrived at the checkpoint only to find out that the technology was temporarily out of order.)
Six major airlines are participating in the program and several have linked to a complete list of all airports where their travelers can access the contactless ID service:
It’s unclear whether we’ll see contactless lanes at more (and smaller) airports in the future.
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