Technology advancements over the last decade or two have changed how Americans live their lives — from using AI chatbots to do simple, mundane tasks to using your cellphone to pay for things at the store. Now, those advancements are leading to significant changes at U.S. airports.
Two new Transportation Security Administration proposals could bring noticeable changes to airport security, and even to those goodbye and welcome-home moments travelers often see outside terminals.
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Guests at airport gates
As Straight Arrow previously reported, nearly 25 years after 9/11, TSA is thinking about removing a restriction that was implemented in the wake of the terrorist attacks. It only allowed ticketed passengers to pass through security and pass through the terminal.
TSA launched a new program at some U.S. airports this week, allowing eligible TSA PreCheck members to pass through security checkpoints without a ticket.
“As an exclusive benefit for our most trusted travelers, this new program makes it easier to return to the gate for welcomes and send-offs, meet friends during a layover, and enjoy dining and shopping along the way, bringing back the moments that once defined air travel,” TSA said on its website.
The program, called Gateside by TSA PreCheck, is available at 13 airports across the country, but will roll out to more in the coming months.
TSA PreCheck members with a known traveler number can apply 1-3 days before a planned visit and, if approved, just need to bring an acceptable form of ID and enter the gate area through TSA PreCheck lanes at the airport.
No need to fill your water bottle after security
That’s not the only restriction TSA is easing. Senior TSA officials told CBS Wednesday that the agency is also considering allowing TSA PreCheck passengers to bring water bottles through security checkpoints.
The network reports TSA would roll out the change to airports equipped with newer screening technology and automated detection capabilities. The equipment can distinguish water from other liquids and identify potential threats, according to CBS.
Not all airports, however, have the new equipment, and TSA does not have the funds to get it across all airports.
New technology
According to the TSA, new technology across airports is driving the potential changes. It details the new use of computed tomography (CT) at security checkpoints.
According to the TSA, security checkpoints currently use 2-D images. However, the new CT technology “applies sophisticated algorithms for the detection of explosives and other threats by creating a 3-D image that can be viewed and rotated 360 degrees for a thorough analysis.”
“That can digitally unpack the bags and see what’s underneath the laptop,” TSA administrator David Cummins told WTOP.
Cummins says TSA has been working with different technology companies over the past year to test various hardware and software in security lanes.
“What we’re doing is we’re pulling it together, the best of the technology into a single lane configuration,” he said. “And we’re going to start with the precheck lanes.”
TSA also details new automated screening lanes, allowing for quicker checks, biometric technology and credential authentication technology — which allows TSA to verify someone’s identity before they go through security.
The new technology also includes new “E-Gates,” where TSA is integrating new digital identity capabilities, allowing TSA PreCheck members to use a digital ID when passing through security.
Changes following 9/11
These new changes, in some form, reverse protocols implemented following 9/11. Before the attacks, passengers weren’t required to show a ticket or even an ID at security checkpoints.
There were no limits on liquids, and people regularly visited terminals just to eat, shop or watch planes. Some additional security protocols were introduced in the 1960s following a series of hijackings, including the Federal Air Marshal Service, but checkpoint screenings didn’t see major changes until after 9/11.
After the attacks, the U.S. government established the TSA, restricted terminal access to only those with a valid boarding pass, mandated government-issued ID’s in security lines, tightened carry-on rules, including liquids, and enhanced screenings.
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