Does anyone know if I can go through the TSA "fast track line" with my elderly parents?

If they can't stand for a long period of time, travel with both of them in wheel chairs. Call airport to see if you need to bring your own. Better to be prepared because you never know what's waiting or procedures in another country.

tropics02: The TSA fast track lane cannot be used when going overseas.
Thank you JoAnn.

tropics02: Contact the airline ahead of time to specify your requirements. The airline should be willing to accommodate you only if your elderly parents have pre registered for the TSA fast track lane.

As an aside, I once was flying back to Baltimore from my mother's home near Manchester, NH when I suddenly became ill at the Manchester airport. I immediately spoke up to the agent and was able to board ahead of time and was attended to by flight attendants as a medical emergency.

Check my husband who has vascular dementia to Florida to visit our son. It went OK because we boarded early. The only thing that happened was when we went through the security check. My husband grabbed someone else’s luggage and started walking away with it. Since he has dementia they let him go through a different area. I will say I will never take them again..very stressful. Sorry to say, but it’s like taking a four-year-old on a plane.

My mother and I went on several trips to Europe and Canada from the US after she turned 92. The last one was when she was using her walker. Under special notes on the tickets, I always said she was elderly and needed extra time to board. The airline would call me about a week ahead and order an airport wheelchair for her. That got me through TSA/security and customs lines reasonably fast plus I just followed people who knew what to do despite language differences. Also when she got to the gate, airlines would single her out and let her board early. At 97, I ordered a wheelchair to take her to her seat on the plane. That was horrible as it was very narrow and hard for her to get on and off the wheelchair. I and she elected to walk very slowly up the aisle of the plane instead and we got very early boarding.

She got a lot of special treatment at airports, cruises, hotels, limos, etc. just for traveling at 97 years old. She did not have TSA pre check or global entry…just ordinary documents.

Same advice as others. Just order wheel chair assistance. If you are bringing them take advantage of every avenue to make it easier on yourself!!!

elderly (age profile) are often slotted for tsa pre over regular line even without paying for official tsa.

another piece of advice: deep breaths and know you are not in control of everything that happens. Bring a change of clothes, depends as if traveling with a youngster.

good luck.

Wheelchairs get priority at the TSA checkpoint. All you need to do is request wheelchairs for both of them and the assistant pushing the wheelchair does the rest . . . Check in, baggage, TSA, etc.

I recommend you coordinate wheelchair assistance for both of them stateside and then thru the airlines overseas. If they are in wheelchairs, you will be directed to a separate screening line with TSA.

If you plan to travel often with them, check with their credit card company. Many will reimburse most or all of the cost of Global Entry, which includes TSA Pre-check for domestic air travel. Good luck and be safe.

Seems like TSA has flexibility but customs in another country is a question mark. Just because I was curious, I went to Lufthansa to see how they accommodate special needs. Here’s a link:
https://www.lufthansa.com/us/en/advice-for-travellers-with-special-needs-to-and-from-the-usa

I expect every airline has protocols. So might be worth a call to the airline. Maybe they have assistance to facilitate customs lines.

Btw, the elders might want to travel with compression socks.

The TSA fast-track lane is only for travelers that have completed the application and have their TSA pre-check on their boarding pass. They will not let you bring others with you.

I am not sure it is a good idea to let elderlies travel such long distances. Several years ago we were on a flight from Germany to the U.S. We traveled first class. Halfway across the ocean, an elderly man across the aisle from us died. The passengers in front of him had to give up their seats so the seats could be reclined in order to hold the body. Drapes were then hung.

I don't know what country you are talking about, but most modern airports have assistance of some sort for elderly and disabled, even if it's just borrowing or renting a wheelchair. Seems like that could be a solution, if waiting in line is your only concern.

I found airport concierge service very helpful for taking my parents with me overseas to Italy for the summer. My mom is totally mobile and fine but my dad had stage 4 gastric cancer and walking was too much. Airport concierge just took everyone straight through a special queue with no waiting and in a wheelchair without having to get out. And it’s just a one time thing per airport so you don’t have to pay for tsa. It’s a bit pricier but it made life SO much easier. I paid for it at Newark Intl and then again in Rome.

"Do I need Global Entry if I already have TSA PreCheck?
While Global Entry includes TSA PreCheck benefits, TSA PreCheck does not include Global Entry, so anyone that travels internationally regularly will need to apply for Global Entry separately. There is also no option to simply upgrade a TSA PreCheck membership to include Global Entry — you must pay the full application fee if you want to switch.
Is getting Global Entry worth it?
Global Entry can definitely be worth it as it saves you a lot of time and hassle when returning from an international trip. The cost is just $22 more than TSA PreCheck and it includes all PreCheck benefits as well. Plus, there are many travel credit cards that offer Global Entry application fee credits."

tsa.gov

Seems the TSA precheck is only for traveling in the US. If ur going oversees then you and your parents will need a Global. If like the US only certain Airlines and Airports except the TSA precheck. The cost of a regular TSA precheck is $78 for 5 years. The Global is $22 more. You apply on-line, get an appt at a center, get finger printed, photo taken and show proof of citizenship or residency which would be a passport or drivers license.

Since ur going overseas, from what I read a regular TSA precheck is not what you will need.

The first answer is yes. You will travel through the airport with your parents in the USA. If they have mobility issues, reserve wheelchairs for them. They will be taken by wheelchair rolled by airport staff personnel from ticketing to their plane. You will stay with them.

As for international travel, contact the airport where you will land - also those you may make stops at - to inquire about assistance.

I suggest that you contact the airline.
Request wheelchair assistance for both of them.
They will be brought to the gate getting through any lines much faster.
AND since they will be in a wheelchair, sometimes a cart like a golf cart is used there will be less risk of a fall pushing through crowds.

As others have said, without knowing more details the answer is "it depends" -- largely on whether or not all of you already have a precheck/CLEAR set up. But some airports offer other, really useful programs that can make things go smoothly.

Sea-Tac airport, for example, offers a variety of accessibility options. When I took my 89-year-old mom to her flight from Seattle to Ft. Lauderdale back in April, I did two things:
- I made a TSA appointment -- basically, you say when you want to go through security and book a time in advance (depending on availability). As a result you can move pretty quickly through the standard line.
- I booked a "Visitor Pass" through the airport itself. I don't know how common these are. But Sea-Tac offers a few dozen passes a day, in advance. You still clear security and everything, but there's no cramped flight on the other side. Just overpriced food. :)
I also looked into getting her a wheelchair by arranging directly with the airline, but with the visitor pass and the TSA appointment (and plenty of time to get to our gate) in the end I didn't need one.

I'd check with your airline, and your airports, and the TSA for their accessibility / assistance options. I was pleasantly surprised. Best of luck to all of you and bon voyage!

You also asked, "Can I get assistance for them overseas?"

Where are you going overseas?

How long will you be there?

What kind of assistance do you need specifically?

Are you or your parents native to that destination? Do any of you speak the language?

There is no short-cut lines for customs that I'm aware of.

If either of your parents have cognitive or incontinence issues, air travel on long flights can be very very challenging.

By elderly how old do you mean? Your profile says a person u care for is 61. Why are you taking 2 elderly people overseas? I traveled thru Canada last year and to get back into the states I had to go thru security and thru customs. It was 4th of July weekend and planes were being canceled and some people had to stay over. Seems that not that many of us were going to the US, most were headed overseas. It will be a long time before I fly again. And I am 74.

No, only if they go through the Pre-TSA program (and it costs $85 for 5 years, I think), in the US.

I tried to do the Delta Clear pass for my 94-yr old Mom... her fingerprints were so work out that they wouldn't scan. Her posture is so stooped and her eyes so cloudy that the retina reader didn't work on her. Every time we have to go through this only to be walked to the front of the line. This program isn't in every airport and if you're TSA approved, is barely better. I think with Clear you don't have to take off your shoes. I'm TSA approved and my Mom not. We go through the TSA line anyway and she still has to go through the scanner -- even if we pull up with a wheelchair! Even her wheelchair pusher has to go through the scanner! And sometimes they even pull her aside to search her.

Getting parents pre-TSA approved is probably the best strategy and value.

We’re recently noting a paid service in some airports, it’s something like $189 a year or so, where you pay to skip the line. TSA pre check from what I’ve seen isn’t for the elderly and isn’t necessarily that much faster. Every airport I’ve been in, US only, does make lots of accommodation for the elderly in terms of providing wheelchair and other faster transportation services within the airport and to connecting services such as rental cars. You’ll need to check with the particular overseas airports to know what is available there

Are you on the TSA fast Track? If so you understand what you/they have to do to qualify. This is, if I am not mistaken, pre-qualification, and would mean forms and etc.

As to what things are in other countries that's anyone's guess I would think, but best the guess of someone who actually resides in the country you will be going to.