Feb 21 (Reuters) – A grouping of major U.S. airlines said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security gave travelers scant warning ahead of the temporary suspension of its PreCheck and Global Entry programs from Sunday, amid a shutdown of much of the agency.
The halt in the programs run by the DHS will begin from 6 a.m. ET (1100 GMT), after the partial shutdown began last week, following the failure of Republicans and Democrats to clinch a deal on immigration enforcement reforms.
“Airlines for America is deeply concerned that … the traveling public will be, once again, used as a political football amid another government shutdown,” Chief Executive Chris Sununu said.
News of the suspensions came at “extremely short notice to travelers, giving them little time to plan accordingly,” he added in a statement, urging Congress to “get a deal done.”
A similar shutdown last fall caused losses of $6.1 billion across the travel industry and related sectors, he said.
“TSA and Customs and Border Protection are prioritizing the general traveling population at our airports and ports of entry and suspending courtesy and special privilege escorts,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.
“We are making tough but necessary workforce and resource decisions to mitigate the damage,” she added in a DHS statement to Reuters.
The pause in programs is among the emergency measures DHS is taking to redirect staffing more than a week after Congress failed to send it more money, the Washington Post said.
PreCheck had more than 20 million active members, the TSA said in 2024, while total vetted airline passengers in the DHS’ traveler programs, including Global Entry, exceeded 40 million.
The PreCheck program allows approved passengers through a dedicated, faster security lane at U.S. airports and is designed to reduce wait times and streamline screening.
Global Entry expedites U.S. customs and immigration clearance for pre‑approved, low‑risk international travelers entering the United States.
Sunday’s moves follow orders from the Trump administration last week to another constituent of the DHS, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to suspend deployment of aid workers to disaster-affected areas due to the shutdown.
(Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru and David Shepardson; Editing by William Mallard and Clarence Fernandez)
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