US tries travelers as airport security; DIY indifference

The good news: The U.S. government has a plan for replacing some airport security staff with self-screening terrorist stations.

The bad news: Travelers in the near future could be shucking their shoes, belts and keys while speed-walking through a see-through security tunnel.

Twenty-three years after convincing travelers in the U.S. their lives depended on partially undressing for strangers in public facilities, the Department of Homeland Security wants to see if people will do the same thing on their own.

The innovation is available to members of the biometric-based PreCheck program. That program frees subscribers from the long lines created by DHS security gates.

Comparing the idea to ordering hamburgers at kiosks, DHS says a pilot for the Screening at Speed Program will be tried at Las Vegas’ Reid International Airport next month.

It’s not a biometric system. Just automated radiation exams either in tunnels or booths.

If the tunnels and cubbies further reduce wait times for passengers, they could be another reason to sign up for PreCheck. Of course, there will always be too little infrastructure most of the time, which will leave plenty of people standing, watching people screen themselves too slowly.

The TSA has allowed more private contractors to carry out PreCheck biometric enrollments. Among them, Telos opened 10 new locations in August.

Article Topics

airport biometrics  |  biometrics  |  DHS  |  research and development  |  TSA