The TSA is getting contrarian

As inflation continues to drive the price of… basically everything higher, one rogue government actor is bucking the trend: the TSA.

According to a Friday announcement, the agency is dropping the price of its enrollment fee for TSA PreCheck ahead of the holiday travel season. Now, it’ll cost you $78 instead of the previous $85. And accessing the program’s perks is like singing backup in the Jackson 5 – as easy as 1, 2, 3.

1. Apply. First-time applicants must apply online, then schedule an in-person interview at one of more than 500 US enrollment centers.
2. Interview. Undergo a background check and get fingerprinted. Once approved, a process typically taking three to five days, then comes step #3.
3. Unlock. For the next five years, this stamp of TSA approval grants access to the special airport security line – where shoes stay on and the people actually smile. 93% of PreCheck passengers spent less than five minutes at security checkpoints in September, per the agency.

✈️📈 Zoom out: Outside of the PreCheck bubble, inflation, high travel demand, and plane and labor shortages are taking their toll. The price of taking a flight has jumped 25% this year, the largest increase since the government started tracking airline ticket prices in 1989, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

+In the know: The number of people traveling in US airports surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first time in late October. And it’s only expected to get busier through the end of the year: 44% of America plans to spend money on flights or hotel stays during the holiday season, per a recent Nerdwallet survey.