IND, STL Added to Known Crewmember

As Indianapolis and St. Louis became the 19th and 20th U.S. airports to embrace the Known Crewmember program yesterday, the impact of the enhanced security system is beginning to take hold, according to pilots who went through the new checkpoints.

Individual pilots are looking forward to seeing their “home” airports open KCM lanes, and pilot groups without KCM access are increasingly expecting their managements to include them.

“I’ve been waiting for this airport to get it for a while,” said one Delta captain who lives in Indianapolis but is based in MSP. “This is great.”

“This is our last day of a four-day trip and we’ve had KCM at every airport we’ve been to,” said a grateful United captain.

Several pilots at STL were relieved to see a KCM checkpoint added to Concourse A at Terminal 1. They said the passenger security line there had been especially difficult to get through and the new KCM access point would make a big difference there. KCM checkpoints were also added at STL in Concourse C at Terminal 1 and Concourse E at Terminal 2.

ALPA members from Air Wisconsin, Delta, FedEx Express, Trans States, and United Continental who went through checkpoints at IND and STL were greeted by Air Wisconsin MEC chairman Capt. Richard Swindell, and Trans States Airlines MEC vice chairman Capt. Cliff Simmons, respectively, along with ALPA staff members from Engineering & Air Safety and Communications.

More than 30 airlines are participating in KCM, with more in the process of joining. For information on participating airlines, visit www.knowncrewmember.org or access the ALPA smartphone app for iPhones and Androids.

Transportation Security officers at IND said KCM makes their job easier by giving them more time to screen higher-risk individuals going through security, instead of having to focus on flightcrew members who have already had to undergo numerous background checks to get their jobs.

“The passengers already trust them, so why shouldn’t we?” said one TSO. “After all, they control the airplane.”

The KCM program will continue to add more airports through the end of the year. New airports in the KCM pipeline include CLT, DFW, FLL, ATL, HNL, IAH, JFK, DCA, and SFO.