A program aimed at side-stepping the long lines at U.S. Customs kicks off next month at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
The government's new Global Entry initiative will have six kiosks available to MSP travelers starting on March 5. And on March 27, a new office will open at MSP where travelers can be interviewed to get into the program.
Global Entry is a Customs and Border Protection initiative that seeks to expedite the security clearance process for low-risk travelers. Instead of waiting around to re-enter the country, fliers can use the kiosks to scan their passports and fingerprints. They'll also have the ability to answer the questions typical of Customs agents on the screen.
To apply for the program, travelers must pay a $100 application fee and agree to a background check and interview.
"We expect the demand will be really high," said Chi Tsang, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection area port director.
There will be three Global Entry kiosks in Terminal 1, two in Terminal 2 and one inside the MSP interview center, Tsang said.
Global Entry is available at 20 U.S. airports. More than 256,900 travelers nationwide have registered for the program.
News of Global Entry's MSP office came as a relief to Nancy McClure, an administrator for Twin Cities health care company. McClure and her husband paid $200 to join the program earlier this year only to discover that the closest office for an interview was in Chicago. McClure already has a trip planned to go to Chicago, so she'll do her interview there, but her husband will arrange to have his interview done here.
