TSA

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Security/TSA

In order to ensure the smoothest, most pleasant airport experience possible, we advise you to follow your airline’s suggested guidelines for advance check-in. We also recommend arriving at the airport 60 to 90 minutes prior to your scheduled departure time, so as to allow sufficient time for TSA clearance and boarding. There is one central security entrance at BHM where all passengers pass through TSA to enter the concourse. For the latest Transportation Security Administration travel tips and prohibited items list, visit the TSA website.

Please note:

  • No unattended vehicles are permitted in front of the terminal. Passengers may be dropped off and baggage unloaded on the upper level roadway, but the vehicle must be attended at all times. Violators will be towed.
  • If you have a medical, parental, or other specific need to accompany a ticketed passenger beyond security checkpoint, please check at the airline ticket counter to determine further assistance.
  • To expedite the screening process, passengers are advised to limit the number of electronic equipment carried with them. Screening these devices will create delays. Whenever possible, place these items in your checked luggage.
  • No knives or cutting instruments of any length or composition are permitted past the security checkpoint.
  • If you have a medical condition that requires you to carry a needle on your person or in your carry-on baggage, you must have the medication that requires such injection on your person. The medication must be packaged with a pharmaceutical label identifying the medication.
  • Any items surrendered at the security checkpoint will not be returned.
  • All luggage, checked and carry-on, is subject to random inspection.

TSA Pre✓®

TSA Pre✓® is an expedited security screening program connecting travelers with smarter security and a better air travel experience. Passengers considered low-risk who qualify for the program can receive expedited screening either as a member of the program or another specific trusted traveler group. If you’re eligible and approved for the TSA Pre✓® program you will be given a known traveler number “KTN” to use when making flight reservations. When you become a TSA PreChecker, you will typically experience shorter lines and will not have to take off your shoes or remove jackets when you are going through security.  If your boarding pass says “TSA PreCheck,” simply look for the TSA PreCheck lane when approaching the checkpoint.  Learn more about the application process.

 

CLEAR®

With CLEAR, your eyes and your fingertips get you through security faster at airports and stadiums nationwide. Travelers who have enrolled in CLEAR have their own separate lane at the security checkpoint where they can utilize biometric authentication (fingerprint and eye scan) at a kiosk rather than wait for a TSA agent to inspect their traditional ID document.

After a traveler’s identity has been verified, a CLEAR representative will escort them to security screening, bypassing everyone waiting in line. If a traveler is also enrolled in TSA PreCheck, they’ll be taken directly to the PreCheck line. Children under 18 may use the CLEAR line for free when traveling with a paid member.

Travelers are able to easily enroll in CLEAR onsite at BHM in just a few minutes and begin using the service immediately. Learn more about CLEAR.

CLEAR Lane and Enrollment Hours of Operation
4:30 am – 8:00 pm Daily

 

REAL ID

Every air traveler 18 years of age and older will soon need a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license, state-issued enhanced driver’s license, or another acceptable form of ID to fly within the United States. The deadline for REAL ID enforcement is May 3, 2023. Learn more about flying with a REAL ID.

Information for Alabama’s STAR ID

In order to comply with the REAL ID Act, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency developed the STAR ID program. STAR ID is a step beyond an ordinary Alabama driver license or non-driver identification card and it meets all the requirements of federal law.