International travelers, rejoice: The United States and the United Kingdom are finally rethinking one of their most annoying airport rituals.
For decades, anyone flying from the U.S. into the U.K. and catching a connecting flight elsewhere on the continent or beyond has faced the same frustrating drill: Pick up your checked bag after customs, haul it through a maze of hallways, and then drop it off at a recheck station (hopefully before the bag check cutoff time—otherwise it has to be rebooked on a later flight) before going through security a second time.
But change is in the air. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the U.K. Department for Transport (DfT) have partnered with American Airlines on a new pilot program that would save travelers time at some of the busiest airports in the world.
Called One-Stop Security (OSS), the system prescreens passengers and their checked baggage at their departure airport, allowing them to go to their next gate as soon as they land without having to pass through security again. The U.K. is one country, like the U.S., that rescreens as a rule, to ensure connecting passengers meet its security protocols before boarding another flight (some other countries skip it to streamline the transit experience or because they trust the originating airport’s security protocols). Not rescreening passengers from the U.S. means the U.K. recognizes that the U.S. screening system is at least equivalent to that of the U.K.
For now, OSS, which intentionally “simplifies the connection process,” according to a statement from American Airlines, is available only for flights from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) or Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) to London Heathrow Airport (LHR). However, other departure airports are expected to be added later this year.
American is a member of the oneworld Alliance, which also includes British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Iberia, Japan Airlines, and Qantas, among others. This means passengers connecting from Dallas on a oneworld flight will avoid customs upon landing in London. Some SkyTeam alliance airlines, including Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic, can also skip security in England’s capital.
It’s worth mentioning, however, that these routes aren’t exempt from the new U.K. electronic travel authorization (ETA) system. As of January 8, 2025, this system requires travelers flying into England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland to apply for permission to travel to the U.K. ahead of time. To obtain the U.K.’s ETA, travelers must fill out a questionnaire with basic personal information and pay a 10-pound fee (roughly US$13, based on current conversion rates).
Is One-Stop Security coming to the United States?
In 2021, Congress passed a bill authorizing TSA to develop a pilot program that could end the recheck shuffle stateside. Currently, rechecking in the United States on inbound international flights with a domestic connection is a requirement of several federal statutes and regulations as a matter of national security. In September, then-TSA administrator David Pekoske said at the Skift Global Forum, a travel industry conference, that the hope was to roll out an OSS program in the U.S. in 2025. (Pekoske, however, left his job in January, when the new administration entered into office.)
Still, in the press release announcing the DFW to LHR pilot program, Nate Gatten, chief government affairs officer for American Airlines, teased the possibility that OSS could expand to work in the opposite direction, too.
The OSS program operates similarly to the preclearance programs that exist at some international airports—including in the Bahamas, Canada, Ireland, and the United Arab Emirates—allowing travelers’ bags to go straight through to their final destination, no passenger handoff required.
