by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:33 AM ET, Wed October 25, 2017
The American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) announced Tuesday it has joined the coalition of travel associations urging support for The Transportation Security Administration Modernization ACT.
The ASTA and other travel groups like Airlines for America, U.S. Travel Association, International Air Transport Association and more issued a letter of support for S. 1872 to Senate Majority and Minority leaders Mitch McConnell and Charles Schumer.
Travel officials believe the TSA Modernization ACT will help bring positive reforms to the industry, including the deployment of new technologies at security checkpoints, mitigating the risks to public areas at airports and reducing delays in air travel.
In addition, the TSA Modernization Act would give security officials more tools to expand the PreCheck Program.
"ASTA strongly supports efforts to expand the PreCheck program to the broadest possible proportion of the flying public while maintaining a high level of security, and in our view S. 1872 does just that," Eben Peck, Executive Vice President of Advocacy said in a statement. "We believe travel agencies can play a critical role in expanding PreCheck coverage, given that agencies continue to sell well over 50 percent of all air travel in the U.S. and perhaps more importantly that travel agency clients fall squarely into the TSA's frequent flyer target market for the upcoming expansion. Agencies know who these 'road warriors' are and when, where and how often they fly."
Government officials would be wise to listen to the ASTA, as the organization's Value of Travel Agents Study found that travel agency clients fly more than the general public, with 4.7 trips vs. 3.6 trips per year for leisure travel and 5.8 trips for agency clients vs. 4.1 trips per year for business.
As for how travelers view the job the TSA and its officers are doing, the ASTA's 2017 How America Travels study found that half of the Americans surveyed support how the federal agency handles airport security.
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