The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is conducting a live trial of self-service passenger security screening at Las Vegas Reid International Airport (LAS), with plans to collect data to determine if the checkpoint technology should be deployed more broadly.
TSA says in a statement that it developed the technology in conjunction with the U.S. Homeland Security Department (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate and tested it at a TSA laboratory in Arlington, Virginia.
“The prototype has a video monitor that provides step-by-step instructions for passengers to complete screening at their own pace,” TSA says. “Once passengers have completed the required screening process and are cleared for travel, automated exit doors open so travelers can gather their belongings and head to their flights.”
The service will be available to passengers enrolled in TSA’s PreCheck program. TSA security officers will be available to provide assistance, though the agency expects “minimal” help will be necessary.
“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,” TSA says.
The agency plans to collect passenger feedback and system performance data “to inform future design requirements and system development and to understand how passengers and [security officers] interact with the system."
"The data collected will inform design, development, feasibility and viability decisions for future iterations,” TSA adds.
DHS Under Secretary for Science and Technology Dimitri Kusnezov notes passenger numbers continue “to increase year-over-year, creating a need for innovative screening solutions that enhance transportation security and make traveling more efficient.”
With the new self-service screening technology, “we are pushing the envelope … toward designing the airport of the future,” he adds. “Self-paced screening is one step toward building that future.”
DHS says it has been exploring self-service airport screening options since 2021, adding: “The self-service screening prototype at LAS is the first to succeed in laboratory testing. Others are still in development and will be tested soon in a laboratory for future consideration in operational assessments.”
No timeline has been given for a decision on the further deployment of self-service airport security checkpoint technology.
LAS handled 57.6 million passengers in 2023, up 9.5% over 2022 and an annual record for the airport. Some 53.3 million passengers were domestic.
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