A Massive TSA Rule Change Is Set To Shake Things Up For Flight Crews In 2025

Even the most well-traveled road warriors occasionally look askance at airline flight crews as they flash their credentials and zip through Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints without missing a beat. Of course, we understand why it's happening. The flight crews are on the job. They have to get to the plane and prepare for boarding. No time to dilly-dally. But experienced travelers who have gone the extra mile to consciously follow TSA rules about carry-on bags and to secure expedited access through security can feel an all-too-human twinge of jealousy as we step aside to let members of flight-deck and cabin crews pass right on through. But that coveted perk is about to get its wings clipped as the TSA gets ready to roll back the advanced screening program. As of November 2025, the administration is dismantling the long-standing initiative known as the Known Crewmember program.

Introduced as a pilots-only initiative in 2010, the TSA's Known Crewmember program was expanded in 2012 to include flight attendants. Officially, the initiative was designed to expedite passage through security checkpoints for members of airline flight crews assigned to aircraft scheduled for departure, but it's likely pilot pushback associated with the introduction of full-body imaging scanners and the alternative, potentially invasive security pat-downs, also played a significant role in the TSA's decision to create an alternate system for flight crews. At its inception, the Known Crewmember program was offered to eligible pilots who were employed by a U.S.-based airline and who were traveling in uniform on airline business. The initiative also stipulated that pilots participating in the program must agree to random screenings and additional security measures, as necessary.

"Allowing these uniformed pilots, whose identity has been verified, to go through expedited screening at the checkpoint just makes for smart security and an efficient use of our resources," former TSA administrator John s. Pistole said in a statement at the time. Valid point, but flight attendants cried foul, demanding the TSA extend the Known Crewmember program to include the in-flight cabin crew. It took two years of lobbying, but in 2012 the TSA opened the initiative to include flight attendants, a move the agency said was in line with its plan to incorporate risk-based security measures like pre-screening low-risk travelers into an overall strategy designed to free up resources to more intentionally zero in on identifying and evaluating unknown risk factors. 

Airline industry insiders at the time also observed that including flight attendants in the pre-screening program also effectively side-stepped what had become an increasingly awkward face-off as flight attendants on the job routinely skipped to the front of the security line, effectively cutting off passengers who had been waiting patiently for their turn through the gate. It's not like it was a major inconvenience or delay for anyone, but it wasn't great optics for an industry trying to balance the realities post-911 air travel while maintaining a consumer-friendly environment. 

Now, in a move that may leave the majority of U.S.-based flight crews throwing up their hands and declaring, "This is why we can't have nice things," the TSA is replacing the Known Crewmember program with a whole new system, the Crewmember Access Point program.

By some accounts the policy change has been in the works since 2022. There's also speculation that a May 2024 incident involving the arrest four flight attendants may have expedited the roll-out. The flight attendants identified in the incident allegedly participated in a years-long smuggling operation by transporting proceeds from the illegal sale of narcotics between the U.S. and the Dominican Republic. "As alleged, the defendants knowingly smuggled large amounts of illicit money linked to the sale of narcotics, to include fentanyl, and took advantage of airport security checkpoints by using their trusted positions as flight attendants," New York Special Agent in Charge Ivan J. Arvelo said in a Homeland Security Investigations statement issued at the time of the arrests.

What does all this mean in practice? First and foremost, flight crews won't be completely losing their access to pre-screened status. Under the terms of the Crewmember Access program, airline flight crews will pass through a more streamlined security checkpoint. It's an opt-in option available to eligible crew members who choose to undergo a background check as a condition of approval. Screenings will take place in a secure purpose-configured area at 112 participating U.S. airports. While specifics are pending, NATA CS, an aviation security services company currently working with the TSA on the program transition, confirmed on its website that CMAP security measures will likely include passport validation and some form of biometric verification.

In January 2025, the Association of Flight Attendants, the labor group representing more than 50,000 flight attendants nationwide, issued a statement declaring, "Our union will continue to work with TSA on the transition of the program and advocate for Flight Attendants. Random screenings will continue. Crewmember expedited screening is a privilege — not a right. It is critical that we continue to encourage crew to follow the rules of the program."