As part of the "Talk to TSA" initiative TSA reviews the questions and comments that come in and we plan to use the TSA blog to address some of the more common themes we are seeing - both the favorable and not so favorable. Security is a shared responsibility and we are always looking to hear from you. In reviewing the last few weeks worth of submissions, one issue that came up consistently was the acceptance of different forms of ID at security checkpoints.
TSA officers see hundreds of different IDs at the checkpoints and it is their job to ensure they are legitimate and valid. There are more than 1.7 million maritime workers and truck drivers that have been thoroughly vetted and received a biometric card called a Transportation Worker Identification Credential, commonly known as a TWIC card. It is an important layer of maritime security, and because it is a valid government ID, TWIC is listed as one of the forms of accepted ID at airport security checkpoints. There seems to be a trend of TSO’s not recognizing TWIC cards at our checkpoints. As a result of your feedback, I will ensure that TSA officers receive the necessary refresher training to recognize TWIC cards and other government-issued ID's (Including NEXUS cards) brought to the checkpoint.
Thank you for raising this issue so we can improve our security screening process moving forward.
Please keep the feedback coming.
John S. Pistole
TSA Administrator
