CT technology, now only used at USA airports to screen checked bags, is expected to significantly improve the throughput when added to the screening process in Phoenix.
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The new procedures will be tested beginning this fall at various American hubs across the United States, including Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles and Miami, and the CT carry-on screening will be tested at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport.
In Phoenix, TSA and American Airlines will also deploy a pilot program by the end of the year which incorporates CT technology, now only used to X-ray checked bags, into the security line.
The technology, now in use for checked luggage, could allow passengers to leave carry-on liquids and laptops in their bags.
If successful, it could eventually be rolled out to more airports, American Airlines’ chief operating officer Robert Isom said in a letter to employees.
The upgrades are expected to be installed by fall.
– Cameras that capture photos of the outside of the bag, which is linked to the X-ray image of the bag’s contents. “I also salute TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger and his leadership team for ably navigating the agency during these very demanding times”.
The automated lanes, which Delta Air Lines has been testing in Atlanta since late May, are estimated to cut by about 30 percent the time passengers spend in screening, McCarthy said.
“Phoenix was chosen as it’s an important airport for us and we have plenty of space in our wide checkpoint in Terminal Four”, read part of a statement from Polly Tracey, American Airlines spokesperson in Phoenix. One of these features is that they use automated belts, which pull the bags through the X-ray scanner. This is largely due to the fact that humans are still being used to screen passengers, meaning that sometimes they can work slowly.
For many, the lines were longer than their flights, prompting #Ihatethewait on social media to pressure the TSA and airlines to do something. And the TSA could deploy this technology to other passenger checkpoints nationwide.
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The new system also allows the line of passengers to continue moving through the checkpoint even when a flier in the queue is moving slow or is selected for extra screening.
