When we checked in this evening on Hawaiian Airlines, we immediately knew something was wrong. It was just as has been reported to us in email and comments. Four boarding passes, covering two flights, all missing TSA PreCheck despite active enrollment and those being long-associated with our Hawaiian Airlines profiles, which we reconfirmed again today for this reservation.
Earlier today, and even since Friday, the airline’s app had been warning of this PreCheck issue, but by the time we checked in, two things happened. First, the notice had vanished, which gave us hope that the problem had been resolved. Second, unfortunately, that was not the case, and there was no explanation and no option to fix it, just boarding passes routing us straight into the general TSA security line.
Hawaii travelers take notice during this busy holiday weekend.
Luckily, this wasn’t something we discovered at the airport, which is why we are giving other travelers flying on Hawaiian this busy holiday week advance notice. We plan to arrive at the airport several hours in advance, as suggested for Hawaii airports. We’ll also check the MyTSA app in advance to try to avoid any hassles at the airport.
The issue was revealed only on the boarding passes themselves. If we hadn’t looked closely, we’d have assumed the PreCheck was on them, as has been true for years. Once the passes were issued without PreCheck, there was no way to fix it. No toggle. No reissue option. No help text pointing to a workaround. You go where the boarding pass sends you.
On Friday, Hawaiian Airlines acknowledged on its website that it is “currently encountering an issue” where the TSA PreCheck indicator may not appear on boarding passes. The airline told travelers that if the indicator does not display, they will need to use the general security line. Hawaiian also said it is working with its vendor to resolve the issue.
That is the entirety of the solution being offered at this time.
The airline has not named the vendor involved, offered any timeline for resolution, or explained whether the problem affects all or only specific routes. We weren’t sure it would snag us, and then it did. The only instruction so far is the one above to arrive early and be prepared to use general security, even if you are fully enrolled in TSA PreCheck and your PreCheck is associated with your reservation.
We are also getting reports from other Hawaiian Airlines passengers, including descriptions of another version of the problem. In at least some cases, we have been told that the boarding pass did display the TSA PreCheck indicator, but TSA still denied it because the traveler was not showing in their PreCheck system. It isn’t clear whether the issue may be affecting the handoff of PreCheck enrollment between Hawaiian/Alaska’s systems and TSA’s.
The timing doesn’t help. This is going to be one of the heaviest travel weeks of the year, with the post-vacation return period starting. Interisland flights have been running very full over the holidays, making arriving early and being aware of the problem even more important. Mainland connections tend to tighten security windows more. When PreCheck suddenly disappears like this, it not only slows individual travelers, but it also reshuffles already strained TSA lines at a time they can least absorb it.
Over the past few months, airline technology failures have repeatedly hit Hawaiian and Alaska. Before this, in October, a data center failure grounded Alaska flights nationwide for hours. A separate Microsoft Azure outage soon thereafter affected both Hawaiian and Alaska simultaneously, just as their systems began to merge. Those were large and highly visible disruptions. This week’s PreCheck failure is smaller, but the holiday travel period timing makes it worse. The airlines’ answer has largely been the same across all the issues, arrive earlier and build in a buffer while the underlying technology problems have remained more abstract.
For now, there is no known workaround for those traveling this week. If your boarding pass does not display TSA PreCheck, you are being directed to the general security line. Agents cannot add it manually. Reprinting the boarding pass has not helped. Switching devices has not done anything reliably either.
If you are flying Hawaiian in the next few days, please do yourself a favor and check your boarding passes carefully as soon as you check in. Do not assume PreCheck will appear just because it always has on prior Hawaiian flights. And do budget extra time through security, especially during peak holiday windows and tight connections. We’ll report back on our own travel experiences tomorrow and report what others are encountering as well.
Hawaiian Airlines comment to Beat of Hawaii.
“Aloha, thank you for bringing this to our attention. We value your feedback and will be sure to share this with our Management team for their review and action. Furthermore, if you’d like to file a formal complaint, please visit https://www.hawaiianairlines.com/content/contact-us/email/complaint. Mahalo, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.”
We are interested in hearing what others are experiencing. Is this affecting your Hawaiian routes, and if so, which ones? Did your TSA PreCheck vanish the same way, or did it show on the boarding pass. If it did show up, were you cleared through PreCheck, or did the boarding pass still get rejected at the checkpoint?
Photo Credit: Beat of Hawaii at HNL.
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Hot mess for us today at HNL. Nothing worked and we ended up in a much longer than expected wait of nearly an hour for the regular security line.
This is too hit or miss. My TSA number was in my Alaska profile and reservation for a Hawaiian operated flight, but it just wouldn’t appear on the boarding pass. The agent at Hawaiian got it to appear after multiple attempts but said it has only now started working intermittently.
I am detecting a pattern here. I called Hawaiian and asked how I should book for my Dec 13 flight. They said check seat availability on Hawaiian app (First Class can be sold out or bulkhead only), then book on the Alaska App using my Atmos log in and book. This I did and everything worked. Then I went Hawaiian app and reserved my seat. I am detecting most if the problems are folks booking on Hawaiian app which Hawaiian told me not to do. If this way works then it could save some folks all the hassle?
it seems that this occurred during the update of the Alaska app to the Atmos app, possibly affecting the Alaska/Hawaiian websites as well. I flew Alaska from Seattle to DFW on Dec 15 and had the same issue, no Precheck on boarding pass. I went back to Alaska and a helpful customer service person noticed that my Global Entry number had been deleted from the app. I added the number and he reprinted my boarding pass to show Precheck. I went back to TSA and for some reason, it didn’t show on their records, they didn’t want to hear anything and made me go to the standard (hour long) TSA line. I wasn’t happy. But after going to the Alaska website to enter my Global entry #, it does show now in the app. In the Alaska app, for example, you need to go to Upcoming trips>trip details>Traveler details to reenter your Precheck/Known Traveler/Global Entry # or do it on the Alaska or Hawaiian webpage. The Alaska agent said it had just shown up as an issue. 2 weeks later, no fix!
What about the Touchless TSA ID system? I think you have to do a separate sign up of some sort. It only operates at some airports but HNL is one of them and San Diego for me. Might be worth checking out the nitty-gritty.
Another reason to avoid Alaska/HA ! I also had a flight credit on Alaska that I used to purchase a lower cost ticket. Their policy forfeits the remaining credit balance. I couldn’t even use the balance to upgrade my seat. I lost about $200. No Aloha here!
I fly daily on Hawaiian Airlines and noticed the TSA Precheck missing on my boarding pass since 12/23/25. I noticed if I book on Alaska Air for Hawaiian Airlines flight the TSA Precheck will appear. Another problem is making my reservations online through Hawaiian Airlines. It doesn’t remember my credit card information. Ever since the merger with Alaska Air it’s been one disaster after another. Flights are constantly delayed through poor boarding procedures or phantom mechanical issues. Hawaiian Airlines claims the problems will disappear in April 2026 but I’m not holding my breath.
It is worth hitting the kiosk and trying to reprint there. I’ve had it with other airlines that were missing the pre-check, but it was there after reprinting.
There has been times over the years Hawaiian has had some issues with their website. However, one can’t help to assume the Alaska/Hawaiian merger has triggered this. It’s not a good look for the new airline combination on the block! Ticketing price costs, flight schedule roulette in many cities, aircraft type changes, and reward program changes. The Beat goes on and on….😵💫
Family of 5 flew in to Hawaii from San Fran no issues, all got Pre Check on 12/22 but none of us got TSA Pre Check on 12/27 so we went to general line and just waited it out. Others went to pre check and we could hear the conversation that there wasn’t the pre check printed but tsa let them in anyway
Happened to me this summer with Alaska Air. I have had precheck for years. Didn’t see the mark on boarding pass. Went to help person at bag check who issued a new one With mark. At TSA pre-check, was turned away by agent as, “not in the system,” and had to use Clear to get through reg TSA line. Return trip was not an issue and hasn’t been since. It was something in Alaska’s communications to TSA with authorized lists, and was part of the information merger. I’m guessing that this is the same.
We flew on Hawaiian from SeaTac to Kahului on November 3 and Precheck was on both our tickets. On our return, also on Hawaiian, on December 12, my husband had Precheck and I did not. We both have NEXUS so this should not have happened.
Follow-up to not having a Pre-Check insignia on my boarding pass.
Yesterday evening, flying Hilo to Honolulu, I was told by Hawaiian counter agent that they could not do anything to resolve the problem.
Standing in general TSA line, I realized that I had my Global Entry ID card on me! Hooray! So, I presented my Global Entry ID card to the TSA agent. Inserting the Global Entry ID did nothing! I was directed to go thru the general scanning line. Bummers.
On December 1st, my husband & I were flying ITO-HNL-ITO (December 8th). My boarding pass came up with preCheck. Husband did not, both legs of our trip. No explanation. At the time, TSA was mystified. We decided to put our KTN on our phones to see if this will help, although we are not flying again until March 30.
Regarding Hawaiian Airlines… I wonder if the TSA issue has to do with this? For the last three weeks every time we go into Hawaiian Airlines to book a flight, first we sign in then we select our flights and when it goes to the booking pages it shows that you’re not signed in. So then we clicked the indicator to sign in and it just doesn’t go anywhere, so we keep doing that and no go … so in other words what we’re finding and we’re wondering if others are finding this too? When you go on the Hawaiian website to book a flight, it does not keep you signed in, so if you want to book on the web-site, you have to put all of your personal data in. including your TSA number. That’s crazy so they say just call and book on the phone. Are other people finding this too?
Glitches like this have become typical in other instances of the so called Privileges in many cases we are paying for. I purchased a TSA Precheck guarantee last year. A continuation of what I’ve purchased in the past. A seamless transition?
Have Clear & it will be faster, that’s what happened to using flying on Hawn 12/26 from San Jose to Maui. Hope it’s the same when we return on 1/1.
Boo, I’m replying to myself, I just found out the Maui airport doesn’t have Clear. Gotta get to the airport extra early then.
Can’t you use your Global Entry card which includes Pre-Check?
I had this same problem this morning. My work around was too go to kiosk at airport and ask a customer representative to add it. It worked. But I was lucky the line was not long.
This issue is not new and at least goes back to Thanksgiving weekend.
On our Hawaiian return flight from Kona to Honolulu we discovered the TSA precheck was not on our boarding passes when attempting to go through the precheck screening station.
The guard directed us to the regular screening line or back to an agent to correct. Since the regular screening line was very light we just went through it. They have known about this issue for weeks at this point.
Plan spending at least 2 of your vacay days at the airport.
Regarding TSA precheck:Is this affecting Alaska boarding passes too? Could this be another glitch in the merging of the two systems?
Ouch… I’ve only had TSA PreCheck for not quite a year, but I don’t remember ever seeing anything about this issue. I’m thankful that when I flew Hawaiian in November that the system was working normally! Technology is wonderful…until it doesn’t work!!!
This is what is called “First World problems”. For what it’s worth, Alaska has been my go-to airline for decades. I’ve never had the problems being cited these days with the merger issues. I write it off to being expected when there is a major merge happening. Also, I’ve never experienced Alaska telling me I could not see the seat map until I booked. I’ve always been able to see the seat map. This is likely only happening on flights that were booked on Hawaiian but became Alaska flights. It’s reasonable to expect glitches like this during the transition, in my opinion. As far as the whole Alaska/Hawaiian kerfuffle I think we all need to have some patience and stop looking for things to fault the big bad Alaska Airlines for. After all, Hawaiian is the airline that was operating in the red and was about to go under. If Alaska hadn’t come along it would have been some other airline. It’s not like Hawaiian Airlines has been a victim. “This too shall pass”
Since Alaska Air bought HA, the problem certainly lies with Alaska Air … not the other way around.
That’s a valid point Deborah. Mergers are always contentious, both sides have trouble seeing the others perspective. That said, HA was most certainly looking at a potential Chapter 11 reorganization or worse, not fun. Alaska needed HA if they want to expand Internationally, so they really both needed each other.
My concern though is AS is not fully utilizing what they acquired for their 1.9 Billion. Hawaiian is a much stronger brand on the world wide stage and I think AS is squandering some of that rather than using it as their International brand as well as their Hawaii brand.
Happened to me today!
Flight from Kauai to Oahu on Hawaiian did not show Pre Check.
The standard check in line at Li’Hue was insanely long.
Luckly, my United flight did show precheck at Honolulu.
What about if you have Clear and TSA pre check?
That happened to us flying from San Jose to Maui, we didn’t have our normal pre-check on our Hawn boarding pass but we all had Clear, we went through the TSA line faster because we had Clear, hope that happens when we return too.
Flew Long Beach to Kahului on Monday 12/22 and this was already an issue – they said at the time they were seeing it with the Atmos Silver rewards members. Out of the 4 in my family, I’m the rewards member and was the only one who didn’t get Pre-Check. My husband and two kids did even though we were all on the same reservation. My in laws flew from Maui to Honolulu and experienced the same issue. Dreading flying home later this week – the whole reason we got TSA Pre-Check was to avoid lines at OGG.
Take this for what it’s worth but I had an interesting conversation from someone on the inside at Alaska….His comment was that Alaska made a big mistake in letting the HA IT guys go. He was someone closely involved with Alaska IT and said the HA IT folks had a lot of knowledge that the AS folks didn’t have and it was needed by AS. Interesting to note, he thought the HA IT department was well ahead of the AS department in many ways.
Yup, had the same problem when I flew from San Diego to Oahu in November. I did not realize that my boarding pass did not show my TSA precheck until my wife and I were in the very short pre-check line. Her boarding pass had her TSA number, so when the TSA officer pointed out that my boarding pass lacked my TSA Precheck number, I was sent to the very long TSA line for people without precheck. I didn’t catch up to my wife until about 10 minutes before boarding started… On our return flight I asked the check in agent to make sure it was entered, she did, but she indicated that the TSA Precheck number still might not print (though it did). Check in at Oahu was generally awful, as about half the passengers could not get the check-in kiosks to work, so there was a long, slow moving line with only two agents to print luggage tags. A stressful hour in line to check luggage as an end an otherwise relaxing vacation. Hawaiian and Alaska’s software and apps needs to be replaced.
Checked today for Dec 30 flt, LAX-HNL using website, no pre-check. 😩
This happened to us on our Delta flight to Maui from LAX but when we used the self check in kiosk we were able to put in our known traveler numbers and it worked fine.
I flew from Honolulu to Kona on Christmas Day. No PreCheck on my electronic boarding pass. I showed this to an agent, who was apparently didn’t know about the issue. She was helpful, and tried a couple of times on her own console to generate a pass with the PreCheck on it, but to no avail.
Fortunately, Christmas Day is one of the slowest travel days of the year, so this didn’t turn out to be a big deal.
Replying to the Hawaiian airlines issue regarding TSA Pre Check did not display on board pass. We traveled from Honolulu to Las Vegas Tuesday December 23, 2025 and had TSA Pre Check on our boarding pass tickets. On Sunday December 28, 3025 from Las Vegas to Honolulu HI flight 807 both husband and my boarding pass tickets did not display TSAPre Check and was to use the general line.
Alaska has certainly messed up the Hawaiian Airlines website!
Tried to book tickets yesterday and had heard this was an issue but experienced it first hand myself.
Wanted to book first class tickets to Hilo (done this many times) and I was told I could not book seats until after I paid. What??? What if they were not together? Or even available?
Not acceptable booked on United instead.
I noticed that as well and have commented many times about this. I believe if you go to HA side first and see what’s available then book with AS, you may fair better. Dumb way to have to do it but it did work for me before.
When I booked flights on Hawaiian this year, I looked at the seat map on Hawaiian’s website, then I made my reservations. After getting the confirmation numbers, I went back to Hawaiian and chose my seats. It wasn’t that hard!
I flew LIH to HNL on Dec 13th. I checked my known traveler Number was on my ATMOS account and logged into Alaska Website which passed me through to Hawaiian App which produced Boarding Pass saying TSA Pre (such as it is in Lihue). This must be a recent development?
Had the same problem on my flight a few weeks ago. So many other problems as well..my pregnant daughter was kicked off a second leg flight from Florida to Honolulu last week. Stranded halfway in Seattle. Hawaiian airlines said it was a fraud alert, but nothing in their system identified that. We believe they oversold the flight, and the gate attendant just kicked them off. Too many other issues to list. Switching out loyalty to Delta, as the issue with my daughter was over the top. Not sure if Delta will be better, but I doubt it can be any worse. Upset with myself for investing loyalty to Hawaiin, then Alaskan swept in and took it all away. Goodbye and good luck Alaskan Airlines!!
Partner and I flew LAX-HNL-ITO both of us have PreCheck and it was present both on our app boarding passes and printed boarding passes. Of course now going to have to hope it works for our return flight next week.
Despite lacking our usual TSA pre-check, we went through TSA at 10:00 AM with no wait. The only inconvenience came from required removal of my laptop. Clearly, TSA was prepared.
For what its worth, we ran into a couple at Houston Hobby airport where one person had their pre-check and the other person didn’t even though they both should have had it on their ticket. They were apparently not headed to Hawaii or on Hawaiian. After reading this I’m wondering if this is a larger problem. Any others seen this?
What if you check in at the ticket counter and receive a paper boarding pass?