UPDATE: Global Entry shuts down, but TSA PreCheck won’t be suspended

If you rely on TSA PreCheck to easily pass through airport checkpoints, rest easy: the Transportation Security Administration now says the fast-tracked lanes will not be shutting down … at least for now.

But travelers who use Global Entry after an international flight back to the U.S. won’t be as fortunate.

Shortly after 10 a.m. EST Sunday, a TSA spokesperson told TPG the agency’s PreCheck lanes remained operational “with no change for the traveling public.”

That word came after a report from The Washington Post late Saturday said the Trump administration planned to suspend both TSA PreCheck and Global Entry Sunday, in the midst of the ongoing partial federal government shutdown.

Overnight, airline industry leaders blasted the last-minute nature of the announcement, and a trade group for the travel sector called the apparent decision “extremely disappointing” — one that, it said, would put travelers squarely in the middle of a political fight in Washington.

But then, airports opened Sunday morning — and TSA PreCheck lanes were operating normally.

I stopped by Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) in North Carolina and saw TSA checkpoints running as smoothly as ever — including the PreCheck lanes — even as TSA officers report to work without pay amid the shutdown at DHS.

It was a similar story at 15-plus other airports across the country, according to TPG readers who shared their experience in our TPG Lounge on Facebook.

Will the PreCheck lanes remain open?

A TSA spokesperson told TPG Sunday the agency would “evaluate on a case by case basis and adjust operations accordingly.”

What about Global Entry?

On the other hand, DHS did move forward with plans to halt Global Entry effective Sunday morning.

In a statement, the department said the move was designed ” to preserve limited funds and personnel” in the midst of the shutdown.

Global Entry is operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The program allows paid, pre-vetted travelers to quickly pass through airport passport control facilities via biometric kiosks.

The suspension of that service went into effect at 6 a.m. EST Sunday.

So if you’re planning to return to the U.S. after a flight from outside the country, expect to have to wait in longer lines at passport control.

Travel industry questions DHS decision

The shuttering of Global Entry is a puzzling decision, to be sure.

The Trump administration on Sunday argued the move was meant to “preserve limited funds and personnel” during the ongoing shutdown.

But Global Entry is largely funded by the $120 application fee members pay every five years.

And U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which operates the program and airport passport control, has long told me that Global Entry actually reduces demand on the officers it has on duty — by redirecting pre-vetted travelers to the quicker, more seamless lanes, and allowing most officers to concentrate on the rest of the traveling public.

The non-profit U.S. Travel Association urged DHS to reconsider its move to suspend the program.

“These Trusted Traveler Programs strengthen aviation security and improve screening efficiency,” the organization’s CEO, Geoff Freeman, said in a statement. “They are funded by user fees, and there is no reason at this time for them to be suspended.”

Big-picture

Both TSA PreCheck and Global Entry have typically continued to run during nearly every past government shutdown, including last fall during the longest stalemate in history.

TSA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers who staff airport security checkpoints and passport control facilities are essential federal workers, and are expected to continue reporting to work — albeit without pay — during any federal shutdown.

And there have been few reports of major security backups or staffing shortages during either of the two most recent shutdowns, save for a flurry of delays at one point last fall in Houston.

About 20 million Americans were members of TSA PreCheck as of 2024, and many more access the expedited security lanes via a Global Entry membership — the latter of which also allows vetted members to breeze through passport control after an international flight back to the U.S.

This is a developing story. Check back for further updates.