The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is considering adding another trusted traveler category to its risk-based approach to security screening at airport checkpoints to allow highly vetted travelers to speed through the checkpoint with barely a stop, says an agency official.
The Expedited Plus screening lane, which would be for travelers that receive enhanced vetting, would require the use of biometrics and credential authentication technology at checkpoints to be absolutely sure that the people selected for this automated screening lane are who they say they are, Steve Karoly, acting assistant commissioner for Requirements and Capabilities Analysis at TSA, says Dec. 5 at the American Association of Airport Executives annual aviation security summit in Arlington, Va.
The concept for segmenting screening lanes based on risk into three new categories is notional and is some ways off from possibly being implemented, he says. New technologies for use at the checkpoint will help TSA have confidence that it is appropriately segmenting passengers according to risk.
Credential authentication technology (CAT) would automatically verify the authenticity of travel documents such as passports and driver’s licenses. A biometric, such as facial recognition technology, would tie the individual to his or her travel document, Karoly says.
‘We want to be able to really understand who that passenger is, 100 percent verifiable,” he says.
TSA doesn’t have biometric records for most travelers passing through standard security lanes today but if a camera was put on the CAT system, it would allow a photo taken on the spot to be matched against the facial record stored on the travel document, Karoly says.
TSA is developing pilot projects to shortly examine this technology.
Karoly asked for help from stakeholders at the conference in getting to the point where an enhanced screening lane, such as Expedited Plus, can become a reality. He also says the concept is being built out at the agency’s internal testing facility, the Transportation Security Integration Facility located at Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., even though some of the technologies envisioned in the concept have yet to be developed.
He tells HSR that while the notional Expedited Plus screening lane appears to be touchless once a person’s identity has been verified, there could still be technology in the loop as the concept evolves. He also says that outside of the checkpoint, other technologies and screening capabilities such as video cameras and bomb-sniffing dogs could help with traveler segmentation.
Karoly presented a single slide with the notional segmented screening concept, which suggests there would also be Expedited screening lanes that use next-generation scanning technology to help guard against potential threats carried by travelers while also permitting them a convenient process at the checkpoint. These lanes would be for vetted travelers much like those that participate in the current PreCheck trusted traveler program, he says.
The Expedited screening would be different from the current PreCheck system, he says. For example, depending on the development of technology, travelers qualifying for the Expedited lane might be able to walk through the lane without stopping while at the same time they are being imaged for potential threats, he says. This lane, which is where the concept envisions the majority of travellers would be funneled, would including body imaging technology and probably some technology like computed tomography (CT) or Advanced Technology (AT) X-Ray systems to scan carry-on bags.
A third type of screening lane would be for travelers that TSA knows less about. These Standard lanes, according to the concept outlined on the slide, could include new parcel scanners based on CT, and or AT X-Ray systems, which are currently used for screening carry-on bags. Karoly says the CT and AT systems in this concept would be matrixed, which means that operators would be located remotely to review images of bags.
PreCheck is a risk-based program begun during the administration of former President Barack Obama and has more than 5 million travelers enrolled. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has promoted the concept of risk-based security for years and TSA’s concept for Expedited Plus, Expedited and Standard checkpoint screening lanes closely resembles IATA’s vision.
Karoly says that if the notional concept comes to fruition operationally, one goal would be to get most passengers out of the Standard lanes. This would allow the agency to put more focus on the travelers it knows less about.
Remote screening operations are expected to reduce manpower needs, help making screening more efficient. Remote screening operations are in effect in some international airports.
The notional concept for Standard lanes includes improved Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT), which are the body scanners currently used at checkpoints.
TSA currently only uses AIT systems supplied by L3 Technologies [LLL] but the agency recently certified a body scanner made by Germany’s Rohde & Schwarz, which Karoly says will be evaluated at Los Angeles International airport as early as Jan. 2018 as part of the agency’s Innovation Task Force.
The R&S QPS200 security scanner is based on millimeter wave technology, as is the L3 ProVision 2 system. The system achieved detection certification from TSA in November, the first AIT system made by R&S to meet TSA requirements here. The system previously achieved certification by European regulators and is in use at airports across Europe, the company says.
TSA calls the QPS200 an “enhanced AIT,” says Karoly, adding that the R&S system processes images differently than L3’s machine, “a little faster and looks for other types of items.” If these field evaluations are successful, then TSA will look to begin an acquisition process for these systems, he says.