TSA debuts self-service security check prototype at Las Vegas airport
The Transportation Security Administration has debuted a prototype for a self-service airport security checkpoint where no human interaction is needed at the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.
Dubbed the Innovation Checkpoint, the new tech — which allows passengers to go through security with the help of step-by-step instructional videos rather than a TSA agent — will be available to all TSA PreCheck passengers traveling through Las Vegas’ international airport in mid-March.
Aside from the lack of human interaction, everything else will remain the same about the security screening process, according to press release issued Wednesday by the TSA and Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate, which collaborated to launch the Innovation Checkpoint.
Travelers will still have to put their bag through a scanner, empty their pockets and step into a scanner themselves.
After passengers complete “the required screening process and are cleared for travel, automated exit doors open so travelers can gather their belongings and head to their flights.”
TSA Administrator David Pekoske touted that “this self-service prototype allows our trusted travelers to complete the screening process at their own pace.”
“While there is minimal assistance from Transportation Security Officers (TSO), TSOs will be available for assistance as needed,” the government agency’s said in the release, assuring that “the same rigorous screening standards and rules required of passengers using the TSA PreCheck lanes apply to the self-screening lane.”
It’s unclear when the Innovation Checkpoint will be rolled out to all passengers passing through Harry Reid International Airport.
The TSA and DHS S&T said in the release that they “will carefully study the results of this assessment before they announce a timeline for any future deployment of this prototype to other checkpoint lanes or at other airports.”
The tech is intended to help TSA agents handle passenger traffic, which has surged in recent months — especially in Las Vegas.
“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, Department of Homeland Security under secretary for science and technology.
In late October, TSA agents had its busiest day ever at Sin City’s Tier 1 airport, located less than 5 miles off The Strip, when they screened 103,400 passengers, according to CNN, citing TSA figures.
For reference, the figure is higher than in November, when thousands of travelers also flocked to the metro for the Formula 1 race.
Across the US, TSA has screened 143 million people at its checkpoints so far this year — a typically slow two months for air travel in the US.
The figure is up 8 million, or 6%, from the same period last year, CNN reported.
During the six-week holiday travel period from Thanksgiving through the end of 2023, TSA agents screened 106 million travelers, up 10% from a year earlier — and a 2% increase from the same time in 2019, ahead of the pandemic, per CNN.
