美国机场快速安检的推广难题

Fliers gripe that getting through airport security lines can be too slow.

飞机乘客抱怨说通过机场的安检通道可能太慢了。

Now, it may be fliers who are slow to sign up for a program to speed them through the lines.

现在，在签约加入一项提升安检通关速度的计划时，行动太慢的反而可能是飞机乘客。

The Transportation Security Administration is aggressively trying to encourage more people to sign up for TSA Precheck. But the effort has run into traveler confusion and aggravation.

美国交通安全管理局(The Transportation Security Administration,简称TSA)正积极努力鼓励更多的人注册加入交通安全管理局的Precheck快速安检计划，但是这项努力让旅客陷入了困惑、让他们更加地不满。

Trying to hook new enrollees, TSA has been funneling regular travelers into Precheck lanes for a sample of swifter security. Some of the newbies get confused, however, and end up clogging the expedited lanes, angering Precheck veterans. And some regular travelers are getting the free perk so often they conclude they are already in the program and don't need to enroll.

为了吸引新的注册会员，TSA一直让普通旅客进入Precheck通道，以让其体验更加快速的安检。然而，一些新手不知道怎么回事，结果在快速通道造成堵塞，让Precheck的老会员大为不满。有些普通旅客经常享受这种待遇，以至于他们自认为已经加入了这项计划，无需再去注册。

'It used to be great, but recently the Precheck lines have been the slowest of all the lines,' said Fred Van Bennekom, who teaches operations management at Northeastern University and has timed TSA lines out of curiosity. 'Sometimes there's almost no one in regular lines and we're all backed up at Precheck.'

图表：美国的快速安检计划“过去这是一项不错的计划，但最近Precheck通道是所有安检队列中最慢的一个，”在美国东北大学(Northeastern University)教运营管理的弗雷德·范贝内科姆(Fred Van Bennekom)说，他处于好奇对TSA通道的排队时间进行了计算。“有的时候，普通通道几乎没人排队，而我们却被堵在了Precheck通道。”

Precheck, launched in 2011, is much-loved among travelers because they don't have to take off their shoes and light jackets, don't have to pull liquids and laptops out of baggage, and can walk through metal detectors rather than standing spread-eagle for full-body scanners. By doing background checks on Precheck enrollees and constantly scanning law-enforcement databases, TSA offers what is essentially pre-9/11 screening to 'trusted travelers.'

2011年推出的Precheck快速安检在旅客中大受欢迎，因为他们不用脱下鞋子和薄夹克，无须从行李箱包中拿出液体物品和笔记本电脑，可以步行通过金属探测器而不是站在那儿展开双臂接受全身扫描。通过对Precheck注册会员进行背景调查并不断对执法数据库进行扫描，TSA对“可信任旅客”进行的实际上是9.11之前那种程度的安检。

The program started by invitation only. Participating airlines could identify fliers with long-term travel records and top-tier status who met TSA criteria. The program expanded to include people enrolled in Global Entry, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection program for trusted travelers. Global Entry requires a background check, fingerprinting and interview with a Customs officer.

Precheck计划最开始仅通过邀请才能入会。参与该计划的航空公司可以通过长期的旅行记录以及达到TSA顶级客户标准来识别旅客，项目后来扩大至包括全球通关(Global Entry)的注册用户，这是美国为可信任旅客提供的一项海关和边境保护(Customs and Border Protection)计划。全球通关计划要求查验背景、提取指纹并接受海关官员的面谈。

TSA wants lots more people enrolled in Precheck to make better use of its designated security lanes, which currently number 590 at 118 U.S. airports. Since December, TSA has encouraged travelers to apply to the program directly. The agency is opening enrollment centers across the country, letting people who are U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents to make an appointment or drop in and have fingerprints taken digitally. The $85 background-check fee buys five years of enrollment.

TSA意欲让更多的人注册加入Precheck计划，以更好地利用它在美国118个机场设置的590个快速安检通道。自去年12月以来，TSA鼓励旅客直接申请加入该计划。TSA正在美国各地开设注册中心，美国公民或合法永久居民可以预约时间、也可以顺便前往注册，以对他们的指纹进行数字采集。缴纳85美元（约合人民币530元）的背景查验费可以获得五年的注册会员资格。

'It's one of the last great bargains the U.S. government is offering,' TSA Administrator John Pistole joked at an enrollment-center opening last week at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

“这是美国政府提供的最后几项优惠待遇之一，”TSA的行政主管约翰·皮斯托尔(John Pistole)上周在达拉斯-沃思堡国际机场(Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport)的注册中心开放时开玩笑说。

TSA said more than 1.2 million people as of December were able to use Precheck, mostly because they had enrolled in Global Entry. Since TSA began taking applications directly, some 170,000 additional people have signed up for Precheck. The program appears on track, but if more travelers don't sign up TSA will have to scale back the number of Precheck lanes at airports, Mr. Pistole said. TSA hasn't set an optimum number of enrollees for the program, he said.

TSA说截止去年12月，超过120万人可以使用Precheck，大多是因为他们已经注册加入了全球通关计划。自从TSA开始接受直接申请以来，大约又有17万人注册了Precheck。这项计划似乎正步入正轨，但如果没有更多的旅客签约注册，TSA将不得不相应减少它在机场的Precheck通道数量，皮斯托尔说。他说，TSA还没有为该计划设定注册旅客的最佳数量。

Global Entry, which costs $100 for five years, is an even better deal for people also planning travel outside the U.S. because they also get included in Precheck. But the application and interview process is more extensive for Global Entry. Mr. Pistole says TSA wanted the Precheck enrollment to be quicker, easier and open to citizens who don't have passports.

五年缴费100美元（约合人民币624元）的全球通关计划对于还打算到美国以外的地方旅行的人来说甚至更合算，因为他们也包含在Precheck计划内。不过全球通关计划的申请和面试过程更繁冗一些。皮斯托尔说TSA想让Precheck的注册更快捷、更简单，并向没有护照的公民开放。

Mr. Pistole, a 26-year FBI veteran who took over TSA in 2010, says Precheck enhances aviation security by moving prescreened people from regular lanes and letting screeners focus more closely on other travelers.

在联邦调查局(FBI)供职了26年的皮斯托尔2010年接过了TSA的帅印。他说Precheck把事先筛查过的旅客从普通安检通道里分流出来，让安检人员可以更仔细地检查其他旅客，从而提高航空运输的安全性。

To entice travelers into Precheck and test TSA's ability to handle more people, the agency has been selecting regular passengers to go through Precheck security lanes and get it printed on their boarding passes. Selection is based on criteria like passengers' travel history and the route being flown. TSA officers trained in behavior detection also can move passengers they deem low risk from regular queues into Precheck lanes.

为吸引旅客加入Precheck计划并测试TSA应对更多旅客的能力，该机构一直在选择普通旅客通过Precheck安检通道，并将安检记录印在他们的登机牌上。普通旅客的选择是以旅客的旅行记录和飞行的航线等标准为依据的。受过行为检测培训的TSA官员也会把他们认为危险系数低的旅客从普通安检队列换到Precheck安检通道。

The influx of people to Precheck annoys some program veterans. Ann Fries says she sometimes finds 20 people in the Precheck line at Tampa, Fla., her home airport. Many get befuddled when told they don't have to take off their shoes and can leave liquids and laptops in bags. They ask why, slowing the line. Then they ask how they ended up in that lane.

Associated Press上个月的德克萨斯州奥斯汀伯格斯特龙国际机场(Austin Bergstrom International Airport)，旅客在TSA快速安检通道排队接受安检。大量旅客涌入Precheck通道惹恼了该计划的一些老会员。安·弗里斯(Ann Fries)说她有时在她家乡佛罗里达州的坦帕(Tampa, Fla.)机场发现Precheck安检通道有20个人，很多人在被告知不必脱鞋、液体物品和笔记本电脑可以留在包里时感到迷惑不解，他们会问为什么，因而放慢了这个通道的安检速度。之后他们又会问他们是怎么进入那个通道的？

'We went from people who knew what they were doing to people in line who don't know what they are doing,' said Ms. Fries, who signed up for Global Entry to get Precheck when it first started.

“过去在这个通道里的人知道自己在做什么，现在排队的人不知道自己要做啥，”弗里斯说。她在全球通关会员刚获准进入Precheck安检通道的时候注册加入了全球通关计划。

Precheck is still faster for her than regular screening at big airports like Los Angeles and Newark, which often have long lines at security screening, but Ms. Fries, an artistic director for a film festival, figures the Precheck changes have added 10 minutes to her average screening time during the past six to eight months. 'It's still a billion times better than the regular lines, but it makes the benefit less of a benefit,' she said.

对弗里斯来说，Precheck通道的安检在洛杉矶和纽瓦克(Newark)等大机场还是比普通安检通道快，这些机场等待安检的人经常要排很长的队。但身为电影节艺术总监的弗里斯认为Precheck的政策变化让她在过去六至八个月的时间里平均安检时间增加了十分钟。“Precheck还是比普通通道好无数倍，但它现在把自己的优经变得不像优势了，”她说。

Mr. Pistole said he has heard the complaints about Precheck lanes getting clogged, and TSA has already decided to stop moving travelers 75 years of age and older into Precheck service, unless they are enrolled, because they sometimes can take 10 minutes to move through. As Precheck enrollment grows, the 'managed inclusion' effort will be phased out, he said.

皮斯托尔说他已经听闻了人们对Precheck通道拥堵的抱怨，TSA已决定不再让75岁以上的老人进入Precheck服务通道，除非他们是注册会员，因为他们有时会花十分钟通过安检。随着Precheck注册人数的增加，这种“人为控制性接纳”的手段会逐步取消，他说。

'I want passengers, when they think of TSA, to think of something positive instead of patting down 95-year-old grannies or taking teddy bears away from children,' said Mr. Pistole. He said that since taking office he has made more than 20 policy changes, many to reduce the intrusiveness of screening, especially for children, older people and active-duty military.

“我想让旅客一想起TSA，想到的是一些正面的东西，而不是拍身搜查95岁的老奶奶或夺走小孩子的泰迪熊，”皮斯托尔说。他说自上任以来，他已改变了20多项政策，很多改变是为了减少安检时的粗鲁行为，特别是对儿童、老人和现役军人的粗鲁行为。

Last week, TSA opened three Precheck enrollment centers at airports -- Dallas-Fort Worth, Memphis and Cleveland -- raising the total to 14. TSA expects to have centers at 35 to 40 airports by the end of May and perhaps 75 by the end of 2014. Applications are also taken at many government offices. Locations of enrollment offices are on the TSA website.

上周，TSA又在达拉斯-沃思堡、孟菲斯(Memphis)和克利夫兰(Cleveland)三个机场开设了Precheck注册中心，将注册中心的数量提升到了14个。TSA希望到五月底的时候在35到40个机场建立注册中心，到2014年底时注册中心数量或许将达到75个。很多政府部门也在接受注册申请。注册办公室的地址在TSA网站上可以查到。

The Precheck free trial has confused some travelers -- including Dr. Van Bennekom, the Northeastern University professor -- who routinely get boarding passes printed with 'TSA Precheck' and assume they are now enrolled in the program. After several trips with free Precheck privileges, Dr. Van Bennekom went to a Precheck lane only to be turned away. He learned he had to pay to be enrolled.

Precheck的免费体验把一些旅客弄得稀里糊涂——其中包括东北大学的教授范贝内科姆——他们的登机牌上通常都印有"TSA Precheck"字样，于是自以为他们现在已经注册加入了该项目。范贝内科姆在旅行中享受了几次免费的Precheck待遇之后，再到Precheck通道时却被拒之门外。他后来得知必须缴费才能成为注册会员。

If the trial access was an enticement to buy, 'then they are lousy marketers,' he said. 'I've never received any communication that says, 'Now that you've experienced fast check in, for only $85 . . .'' For now, he says he gets free Precheck so frequently he won't bother to sign up.

如果说体验Precheck通道是吸引旅客购买会员资格的手段，“那么他们可以说是拙劣的市场营销人员，”他说，“我从来没有收到过任何信息告诉我：‘既然你已体验了快速办理登机手续的流程，只需85美元（约合人民币523元）……’”目前，他说既然能如此频繁地享受免费的Precheck快速安检，他不会费心去注册成为会员。