TSA Wants A DIY Airport Security Option ‘Just Like Self-Checkout At Grocery Stores’
by Suzanne Rowan Kelleher
Will airport security soon have a self checkout option? The idea is moving closer to reality, per a new solicitation from the Department of Homeland Security for self-screening systems at airport checkpoints. The request for information (RFI) to tech firms aims to “support a future vision for increasing aviation security effectiveness from curb to gate while dramatically reducing wait times and improving the passenger experience.”
“Just like self-checkout at grocery stores, self-tagging checked baggage, or ATM machines, many passengers prefer an experience that they can complete all by themselves, at their own pace,” says the RFI, which was released last Thursday. “A successful solution would lead to a passenger friendly, intuitive screening process while improving security, accelerating passenger throughput, reducing pat-down rates, and reducing the overall level of contact a passenger experiences with other passengers and TSOs.”
Specifically, DHS is looking for a streamlined solution that screens passengers and their belongings together, in a single step, replacing the two-step process that exist at airports today.
Another requirement: Passengers will be be notified directly if they trip the alarm for some reason — say, forgetting to take off your belt — and then be able to self-resolve without a TSA officer’s intervention to “reduce instances where a pat-down/secondary screening procedure would be necessary.”
Of course, security is the top priority. In order to be successful, the solution must be able to “detect weapons and organic threat items hidden on passengers without the same level of Transportation Security Officer (TSO) engagement normally present in the screening process,” according to the RFI.
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