‘Known Crew Member’ Program Will End in Late 2025

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently shared that it would be closing its Known Crew Member fast-lane in November 2025. The decision was made due to a startling number of employees taking advantage of the more laid-back screening.

The Known Crew Member (KCM) program was established in 2011 to expedite the screening process for registered airline employees. Flight attendants and pilots were allowed to skip the painfully long passenger lines and instead scan their badges to pass into the sterile airport, though there was a chance of them being selected for a random screening.

There are nearly 200 KCM checkpoints in the US spread throughout 112 airports. However, an uptick in dangerous activity has led TSA to decide that enough is enough.

TSA will be removing all KCM lanes in November 2025. Luckily for airline employees, it will shortly after be replaced by the Crewmember Access Point Program (CMAP).

“TSA plans to implement the Crewmember Access Point program (CMAP), which is a security improvement and successor to the current Known Crewmember Program,” an agency spokesperson stated. “The new CMAP, when implemented, will provide opted-in, eligible crew members with expedited access to the sterile areas at participating airports.”

The transition “represents a broad security enhancement that has been in development for years,” the spokesperson continued.

Crew members have taken advantage of the KCM program several times, with one incident occurring less than a week before TSA’s decision was announced. On January 21, a 58-year-old TSA worker named Matthew Lamar Gilbert was arrested at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) for carrying an unlicensed firearm inside. Only specific employees, like federal air marshals, are authorized to bring weapons into airports.

The TSA has also reported cases of crew members using the lack of screening to smuggle drug money into the Caribbean.

FMI: www.tsa.gov