The Transportation Security Administration is exploring how bringing a little DIY ethic to its airport security operations may help improve and speed up the process, unveiling a new self-screening system at Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport on Thursday.
The new system, currently only available to TSA PreCheck pass holders, features an automated “bucket” conveyor system that whisks carry-ons and pocket items through a scanner while passengers enter a glass-paneled cubicle and follow step-by-step visual prompts displayed on a large video screen to execute a self-scan. The system also allows some opportunity for passengers to resolve their own inadvertent security issues, like leaving keys or a cellphone in their pockets.
“The aim is to provide a near self-sufficient passenger screening process while enabling passengers to directly receive on-person alarm information and allow for the passenger self-resolution of those alarms to reduce instances where a pat-down or secondary screening procedure would be necessary,” the TSA said in a press release.
The pilot system was developed by TSA and Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate and is currently only in operation at Harry Reid International, the seventh busiest U.S. airport. TSA officials say they will collect passenger feedback and data on the system’s performance, design, cybersecurity, human factors and other variables to “inform future design requirements and system development and to understand how passengers and (transportation security officers) interact with the system.”
“We are constantly looking at innovative ways to enhance the passenger experience, while also improving security,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske in a press release. “This self-service prototype allows our trusted travelers to complete the screening process at their own pace. Testing at the Innovation Checkpoint in Las Vegas gives us an opportunity to collect valuable user data and insights, and explore opportunities to apply parts of the prototype to other airport security checkpoints. I am grateful for our partners in (Science and Technology Directorate) and (Las Vegas) airport, who were critical in bringing this vision to reality.”
Are more people flying?
U.S. airline passenger volume has risen sharply since the end of pandemic-related restrictions and 2023 was a record for the agency, which reported it screened over 858 million passengers last year, an average of 2.4 million each day. A new single-day screening record was also set in 2023 when 2.9 million passengers moved through TSA security checkpoints on the Sunday after Thanksgiving Day. And, seven of the 10 busiest days in TSA’s history took place in 2023, according to the agency.
“The number of airline passengers continues to increase year-over-year, creating a need for innovative screening solutions that enhance transportation security and make traveling more efficient,” said Dimitri Kusnezov, DHS undersecretary for science and technology, said in a press release. “At (the Science and Technology Directorate), we are pushing the envelope with new technologies and concepts toward designing the airport of the future. Self-paced screening is one step toward building that future.”