“Families on the Fly” is a new TSA initiative to enhance hospitality for families during the security screening experience, and the priority lane will be launching first at Orlando International (MCO) and Orange County (SNA), the closest airports to Walt Disney World and Disneyland, respectively. This covers details about the campaign, other recent positive changes at TSA, plus our commentary.
According to the announcement, the goal is to make the airport security experience as smooth and stress-free as possible for traveling families. The Families on the Fly campaign is being rolled out at select airports, and aims to mitigate the unique challenges families face when traveling and minimize stress while maintaining the highest level of security.
“Families on the Fly” benefits for families include:
- Dedicated family lanes at select airports nationwide
- Discounted TSA PreCheck fees for families – Coming soon
- Dedicated TSA PreCheck lanes for service members and their families
Participating airports include:
- Orlando International Airport (MCO)
- Charlotte-Douglas International (CLT)
- John Wayne Orange County Airport (SNA) – Coming soon
- Daniel K. Inouye Honolulu International Airport (HNL) – Coming soon
TSA hasn’t released full details about the logistics or rules for this, but we’re expecting this to be available to all families with at least one children age 12 or under (as that’s the cut-off for other TSA family eligibility and seems logical here). We also do not expect this to work in tandem with TSA PreCheck, which is already available to families with small children so long as parents are eligible for that line-skipping access. Unlike TSA PreCheck, no advance registration is required for the family priority lane and it’s free of charge.
This initiative is one of several TSA has launched to improve hospitality at its 435 airports located throughout the country.
Following the successful launches in these pilot cities, “Families on the Fly” will roll out at select airports including Charleston International Airport (CHS), Jacksonville International (JAX), Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport (PVD), Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU), and Tampa International Airport (TPA) with additional airports slated for addition in the coming months.
Earlier this summer, TSA launched the “Serve with Honor, Travel with Ease” campaign designed to recognize the service and sacrifice of military and uniformed service members and their families. TSA introduced expedited access for military members in TSA PreCheck lanes at select airports near larger military installations. This included dedicated screening lanes, or front-of-line privileges, designed to minimize wait times and improve convenience for service members.
Military personnel and civilian Department of Defense (DOD) staff are eligible for free TSA PreCheck by using their DOD ID number as their Known Traveler Number when booking travel. Children 12 and under may accompany service members and DOD staff in TSA PreCheck lanes without restriction. Minors 13-17 must be on the same airline reservation with a TSA PreCheck-eligible parent or guardian to receive expedited screening.
On a separate but related move to streamline the security process, TSA introduced a new policy to allow passengers traveling through domestic airports to keep their shoes on while passing through security screening. The new policy is aimed at improving the experience and, most notably, lowering wait times at TSA checkpoints.
Ending the ‘Shoes-Off’ policy is another effort to modernize and enhance traveler experience across U.S. airports, leading to a more pleasant and efficient passenger experience. TSA indicates that cutting-edge technological advancements and multi-layered security approach allows the implementation of this change while maintaining the highest security standards.
Our Commentary
Let’s start with the last point about ending the ‘Shoes-Off’ policy. Longtime readers are likely aware that I have strong thoughts about “security theater,” which was a hot topic about 5 years ago as well as prior to (and since then) when it comes to Housekeeping Hassles at Walt Disney World.
I’m sometimes told to stay in my lane when it polarizing off-topic subjects, so I’ll just start by noting that I studied national security & counterterrorism law, and even wrote a thesis on traditional airport screening measures versus behavioral detection. (This was a huge emerging field when I went to school in the shadow of 9/11.)
This is technically more ‘in my lane’ than Disney stuff, which zero of my formal education concerned. That’s all just “street smarts” forged on the mean streets of MSUSA. Unfortunately, this education has been totally useless from a practical perspective…until now!
I can say with complete confidence that ending the ‘Shoes-Off’ policy is a step in the right direction.
I can’t speak to whatever technological advancements allegedly enabled this, but that doesn’t matter. They weren’t needed. “It doesn’t matter” is very much a recurring takeaway with this stuff, as the underlying issue is economic–via traveler confidence and peace of mind–as opposed to efficacy. (The hundreds of hours spent studying boils down to that single sentence. You now have the same level of expertise as me, congratulations.)
Actual analysis misses the mark because that’s what this stuff is, and always has been, really about. I would hazard a guess that this ‘Shoes-Off’ policy decision was made on that basis, thanks more to the passage of time than anything else. Hence the term “security theater” in the first place.
As for the family lanes, these are another step in the right direction.
We’ve often remarked that MCO is the “worst” TSA experience because it is disproportionately second-time fliers. My strong suspicion is that MCO has more second-time fliers than any other airport in the United States, and by a colossal margin. (Second because their first-ever flight would’ve been coming to Walt Disney World.) It’s also probably the #1 airport for families, again by a wide margin. No data on this, just my gut from extensive experience at MCO and other airports.
There are air quotes around “worst” above because it’s not really anyone’s fault. It’s a confluence of circumstances: traveler inexperience, disproportionate numbers of kids, strollers & mobility devices, checked baggage fees, convoluted and counterintuitive rules, along with TSA agents who deal with this all-day, every-day and undoubtedly become a bit, ahem, “battle-hardened” in the process.
If anything, the MCO experience is shockingly pleasant despite the above. The airport manages to overcome a lot and be pretty good. The TSA agents and travelers all do a surprisingly good job of holding things together in spite of it all. MCO is an impressive organism, even if it can be frustrating and time-consuming for all involved. That’s somewhat beside the point, but it also is the point.
If done correctly, having dedicated family priority lanes could be a huge win for all involved at Orlando International Airport.
This priority lane gives families a space of their own, which might be faster but at minimum will be lower-pressure. It benefits other travelers by getting families out of the regular screening lines, making them more predictable and stoppages less likely. It gives MCO a location to put its most experienced and patient TSA agents, too. Kind of like what Disney does with Cast Members at Guest Relations!
(Again, this is also coming to John Wayne Airport, which services Disneyland. That’ll be nice, I guess, but SNA is already one of the most laid-back airports in the world. And despite it being our “home” airport, the three of us don’t have much experience flying out of SNA together. We always opt for LAX to avoid layovers–a ‘pick your poison’ kinda deal with a baby or toddler.)
One of the things we’ve learned from flying as a family is that TSA can be unnecessarily stressful, and that’s even for us as experienced travelers. Part of the problem is other travelers. Thankfully, this isn’t much of an issue at MCO, as anything with a modicum of common sense knows that’s just part of the deal there.
But at other airports, there can be a tension in the air between business travelers and families. It’s hard to explain, but it’s one of those ‘if you know, you know’ things. (I almost feel badly for bringing this up, because sometimes ignorance is bliss.) In any case, getting through security as a family can be stressful due to fellow travelers.
It also can be an issue with security, itself. Not every TSA agent is long-tenured and experienced with all of the rule quirks for babies. There are a lot of, ahem, “idiosyncrasies” when flying with a small child. Special exceptions for liquids, formula and food. Unique policies for strollers, babywearing, etc. I don’t even know them all–it’s always something new.
As a traveler, you have to advocate for yourself–but without crossing a line, since it is TSA and all. Polite but firm. Sarah is very good at this. I am not. (And not in the rude or belligerent way–the opposite. I would simply fold immediately when challenged about literally anything.)
Point being, family priority lanes offer a location for this type of screening to occur with consistent and predictable results. If implemented correctly, this could be a huge win for travelers. It could make things less stressful and reduce wait times, and not just for families, but everyone.
If you fly with any degree of regularity, we still highly recommend TSA PreCheck over this. Having that is a gamechanger for the airport experience, and even makes MCO a relative breeze. Many credit cards and loyalty programs cover the TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application fee (if you have the option for either, get Global Entry).
It could also mean not having to schedule a Mears Connect pick-up over 3 hours in advance or getting to the airport super early, which may turn out to be very necessary or complete overkill. One of the biggest knocks on MCO is the massive range in times it could take you from airport arrival to getting to your gate.
This, along with other things like the Free Airport Luggage Transfer from Walt Disney World Hotels, could actually help address that in meaningful ways. Because even with the new terminal, Orlando International Airport is bursting at the seams as it sets fresh record after record for visitor volume. MCO needs mitigation measures like this.
We haven’t traveled extensively as a family outside of the United States, but the one place we have been a few times is Japan.
Family priority lanes are a thing there, and they’re phenomenal. We have had zero issues there, enjoying an expedited and courteous process that manages to be both thoughtful and thorough. We have had better success there than at LAX, despite there being no language barrier for us in Los Angeles. (I’ve seen these lanes in other countries, as well, I just can’t speak to their quality.)
If what TSA implements is anything like the system in Japan, it’ll be a huge win for families.
Beyond the scope of this post a bit, but one ‘soapbox’ subject for me is that our society needs a lot more like this. Aging populations throughout the developed world are viewed as a big issue that needs to be tackled, but government initiatives aimed at this have had almost zero success.
This is because they’re all focused on the wrong cost: monetary as opposed to opportunity. (Monetary costs no doubt play a role for some people, but fertility rates segmented by income conclusively refute this as a whole. Statistics tell the story.)
If this can be addressed, things like “Families on the Fly” are the type of incremental improvements needed. Making things easier for families, and public life more conducive to the presence of children. This requires attitude changes as much as anything else.
When I saw this news being discussed elsewhere, some of the top comments were complaints–that families shouldn’t get preferential treatment, already receive too much, or “don’t belong” at the airport if they can’t handle it. Respectfully, this is nuts–the real entitlement. It also ignores the reality that getting families out of regular lines benefits everyone else!
One of the other things we’ve noticed when traveling in Japan is just how much more welcome children are in public spaces. It’s not just that they’re begrudgingly tolerated, but families are given a lot of preferential treatment and there are a ton of thoughtful little design features and accommodations for parents with small kids (although “thoughtful little design features” are very much a Japan thing, generally).
The good news for anyone who feels slighted by this or the “Families on the Fly” campaign is that every single person was a child once, so there’s equal opportunity for all of us to receive this supposedly preferential treatment!
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Your Thoughts
What do you think about the return of the “Families on the Fly” campaign? What about TSA ditching the “Shoes-Off” policy? Think new initiatives like this, along with other programs such as Airport Luggage Transfer/Resort Airline Check-In, could improve the MCO experience? Do you agree or disagree with our commentary? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
