Travelore Tips: These Airports Are No Longer Asking TSA PreCheck Passengers To Show ID

If you have TSA PreCheck and you're flying through one of these airports, getting through security could soon be even quicker for you.

United Airlines is offering a touchless ID program. Angela Lang/CNET

Getting through an airport from baggage check to your gate can sometimes be a lengthy process, and it can be especially frustrating when you're strapped for time. A new feature available at some airports and through a couple of airlines may be of significant help if you're a TSA PreCheck traveler.

A small set of airlines and airports are letting TSA PreCheck passengers use a touchless ID program when checking bags and walking through the PreCheck lines. Instead of showing ID, travelers' faces will be scanned using the Transportation Security Administration's facial recognition technology.

We'll tell you below which airports and airlines are offering the touchless ID option. Interested in other technologies the TSA is working on? Check out these security pods the administration showed off at CES this year.

Which airports are participating?

Right now, there's a small number of airports participating in the touchless ID program for TSA PreCheck passengers. Here's what they are.

Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD)

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

In the future, American Airlines will have its own touchless ID program.

Which airlines are offering the touchless ID option?

Only two airlines are currently offering a touchless ID option when going through airport security. Here's what they are.

United Airlines: TSA PreCheck passengers can choose the airline's Touchless ID program when flying through the above airports. This means they won't have to show a boarding pass or a driver's license. Instead, customers can use their faces as identification to go through TSA PreCheck lines and when checking their bags at the entrance.

When checking a bag, TSA PreCheck customers should look for a shortcut kiosk where they can drop off their bags. Their photo will be taken at this kiosk and a tag for their luggage will be printed. Their photo will also be taken at the TSA PreCheck security checkpoint.

The Points Guy says before May 2024, you may still be required to show a physical form of ID, so be prepared.

Delta Airlines: TSA PreCheck passengers can use Delta's Digital ID option to fly without showing their ID. This option uses the customer's saved passport information to match the photo taken at the security checkpoint.

Delta also offers touchless ID while dropping off bags, and the option is available at multiple airports, including Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and LaGuardia Airport (LGA), as well as the airports mentioned above.

How to get TSA PreCheck and use the touchless ID option

You'll first need to apply to join the TSA PreCheck program. Approval for that could take up to 60 days, but the TSA says it generally only takes three to five days.

For United, you'll need to upload your passport and your Known Traveler Number to the United app. When checking in for the flight, you can select facial scan as your form of ID and give United permission to scan your face.

For Delta, you'll opt in using the Fly Delta app by uploading your passport and KTN. During check-in when you look at your boarding pass, you should see a green button that says Digital ID.

Katie Teague

Travelore News: TSA Is Reimagining Airport Security Checkpoints: First Self-Service Kiosk Opens Next Month

TSA is working on three new security systems that reimagine airport checkpoints, investing in technology to screen more passengers effectively using self-service rather than scaling up the number of screeners the government employs. Passengers will start using the first one beginning next month.

Here’s what they’re working on.

Pod-based design with individual screening consoles, carry-on screening system and flat panel passenger screening

In-motion panel sensors for screening as passengers move through checkpoints​​​​

Integrated carry-on bag conveyance system with security equipment and automated entry and exit doors​​

The first test project is rolling out at the Las Vegas airport. PreCheck passengers will complete the security process independently, using individual consoles or lanes. Passengers will be prompted by machines through each screening step.

Starting in January, PreCheck passengers in Vegas can test out an automated screening lane with carry-on bag conveyance system. They’ll be given instructions by a video monitor. And they’ll go through automated entry and exit doors.

Passengers who don’t pass screening the first time, for instance leaving items in their pocket, the entry door will open back up for them to take those items out and be re-screened. When passengers clear screening, the automated exit door opens and instructs them to gather their belongings.

System To Be Tested In January, Credit: Department Of Homeland Security

TSA describes the project as part of its effort to “increase screening efficiency and improve the passenger experience while keeping a stable number of Transportation Security Officers” or put another way: spend massively on capital equipment to avoid hiring more people.

Willie Sutton said he robbed banks because “that’s where the money is.” But that’s only because he came too early to know about selling new technologies and equipment to the TSA. One after another, generation after generation of the latest TSA-promoted technology eventually ends up mothballed from backscatter machines and Rapiscan and now we have analogic screening devices meant to speed up checkpoints actually slowing them down. Here we have contracts with Micro-X, Vanderlande Industries, and Voxel Radar. That second one can’t be real, right?

Ultimately, TSA is supposed to prevent dangerous items from going through security checkpoints, which requires on focusing on dangerous items and not sci-fi plots. It requires a focus on real threats and not taking scissors away. But that’s not even correct. TSA itself has said there were no known threats against aviation, it’s all hypothetical. And if there were, hardening airport checkpoints just pushes the threat to somewhere else. It doesn’t make people safer, but it prevents TSA from being blamed for the next disaster because it’ll happen outside its area of responsibility.

https://viewfromthewing.com/author/viewfromthewing/

TSA Raising Fines After Finding Record Guns In Carry-Ons

The Transportation Security Administration is raising the fine for people caught with a gun in their carry-on bag after intercepting a record number of firearms at security checkpoints this year.

The TSA said Friday it’s raising the maximum fine to $14,950. Previously it was $13,910.

TSA officers have found 6,301 firearms in carry-on bags so far this year, surpassing the previous record of 5,972 detected in 2021. The numbers have been increasing steadily over the last decade; in 2012, 1,549 firearms were detected at security checkpoints.

Eighty-eight percent of the guns found this year were loaded, the TSA said.

Firearm possession laws vary by location, but guns are never allowed in carry-on bags at any airport security checkpoint, even if a passenger has a concealed-weapon permit. Passengers transporting firearms must do so in a locked case in checked baggage. They also must declare them to the airline, the TSA said.

At a congressional hearing earlier this year, some lawmakers and airport administrators called for higher fines, gun safety classes for violators and other measures. They said the maximum fines were rarely imposed and clearly weren’t working as a deterrent.

But other lawmakers said most of the passengers who get caught simply forgot they were carrying a gun, and higher fines won’t stop that problem.

When the TSA finds a gun, it generally checks to see if it was stolen or involved in a previous crime. The agency may also confiscate the gun.

In addition to the fine __ an amount determined by the TSA based on the circumstances of each case __ the TSA will revoke PreCheck eligibility for at least five years for anyone caught with a gun at a security checkpoint. Passengers may also be arrested for a firearms violation depending on the state or local laws in the airport’s location.

By DEE-ANN DURBIN

The TSA Is Under Fire For This Major Change At Airports

Even though being able to jet off on a much-needed vacation is always an exciting prospect, the process of getting through the airport to your flight is usually not quite as enticing. From long lines and potential delays to expensive food and looming health risks, most would probably prefer to limit their time in the terminal as is. But because of a recent update, your next trip might see even more pre-flight pain points. Read on to find out why the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is coming under fire from travelers for a major change it's instituting in airports.

New luggage scanners are causing delays at security checkpoints in airports.

Thanks to everything from severe weather to staffing issues, delayed or canceled flights have become more common as the travel industry still struggles to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. But travelers are now reporting experiencing delays before they even reach their flights because of an update to the security screening process being rolled out at airports across the U.S. by the TSA, according to travel news outlet The Points Guy.

The latest issue is caused by the implementation of new computed tomography (CT) scanning machines that are now being used to check all carry-on luggage at checkpoints. According to the agency, the updated scanners should allow travelers to pass through security more quickly by allowing them to leave certain items in their bags. But unfortunately, the process appears to be turning what can already feel like a long and drawn-out process into an even slower experience.

"I think it took about ten minutes to screen ten people…If not longer," traveler Joelle Erickson wrote in a post to a Facebook group hosted by The Points Guy. "The people in front of me were trying to contact their family further back in line to warn them of how slow the machine was."

The TSA says the machines should eventually make the security process easier.

The new machines are part of a project launched by the TSA to update and modernize technology at security checkpoints across the U.S., The Points Guy reports. After initially spending $200 million on an order of new scanners in 2021, the agency announced in March that it had authorized a $781.2 million contract for nearly 1,000 machines that airports will likely install by this summer.

According to the TSA, the new machines allow agents to scan luggage without the typical hassle of removing certain items. "CT technology provides enhanced detection of threat items. Like existing CT technology used for checked baggage, the machines create such a clear picture of a bag's contents that computers can automatically detect explosives, including liquids," the agency explains on its website. "In the future, the goal is to keep laptops and 3-1-1 liquids inside of the bag during checkpoint screening. Under current screening procedures for this technology, laptops are allowed to remain inside the bag for screening."

Put more simply, the scanners will provide 3D imagery to security personnel and ideally cut down on the need for bag checks. "It's much like the CT scan machines you see at the hospital," TSA southeast spokesperson Mark Howell told The Points Guy earlier this year. "And the difference in security is really [like] the difference between a map and a globe."

The TSA admits that training issues are causing security check delays at some airports.

Unfortunately, while officials hope the new technology will eventually smooth out and expedite the security screening process, the rollout is creating some issues for travelers as the current advanced technology (AT) machines are replaced. Staff from The Points Guy have reported delays at airports across the U.S., including San Diego International Airport, Denver International Airport, Charlotte Douglas International Airport, and Boston Logan Airport.

"As with any new technology, there is a learning curve for officers; as their proficiency increases, there is an expectation throughput will meet and exceed existing AT systems," a spokesperson for the TSA told The Points Guy in an email.

Here's how you can still get through airport security quickly and easily.

Because of the potential for delays, some experts warn that travelers should try to arrive at the airport a little earlier than usual as agents get used to the new process. Travelers can also opt for an expedited experience by signing up for TSA PreCheck, which allows passengers to use a dedicated lane, keep liquids and laptops in their bags, and leave their shoes on their feet during the screening process, Travel + Leisure reports.

But even though the new machines may be making some travelers frustrated, others still see the slow-down as a fair trade-off for simplifying the security process. "As a parent traveling with iPad, snacks, and wet wipes, I loved the new machine," traveler Matt Teichmann posted in The Point Guy Facebook group. "I'd rather it take a little longer and not have to do all that unpacking!"

Source: ZACHARY MACK