Self-Service Security Checkpoints: Coming To An Airport Near You?

If you’re like a lot of consumers, you find the prevalence of self-serve kiosks at supermarkets and other retailers to be a bit of a hassle. But would your opinion of the technology change if it meant skipping those invasive airport security checks?

Well, you might soon have an opportunity to find out.

What happens in Vegas…

There’s a new system underway at Sin City’s Harry Reid International Airport that will allow passengers, at least in many cases, to conduct their own pre-board screening. This is the first system of its kind and is set to begin operation for those enrolled in the Transportation Security Administration’s PreCheck program by the end of this month.

Here’s how the process is designed to go:

• Approach the digital display for instructions and access a virtual TSA agent for additional help.
• Place items in the appropriate basket and allow it to go through the conveyor belt.
• Move through the body scanner and, if it still shows an issue after three attempts, a human agent will intervene.

Once the process is over, automatic doors will open, allowing passengers to continue through to retrieve their items.

The beginning of a trend

While it’s not yet clear how much time, if any, the self-serve system will save the typical passenger, there are obvious benefits for the TSA. Instead of needing to provide as many as a dozen agents at an airport’s security checkpoint, this process will provide similar screening capabilities with just two — one at the body scanner and another available to check bags.

The TSA’s Security Science and Technology Directorate is responsible for the implementation of the program, and Undersecretary Dimitri Kusnezov the agency is “pushing the envelope with new technologies and concepts toward designing the airport of the future.”

Chris Agee March 8th, 2024

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