Stand in any airport security line long enough, and you will notice a choreography of small frustrations. Shoes off. Laptop out. Belt in the bin. An officer glances from your face to your ID and back, making a judgment that takes two seconds and has changed little since the 1970s. The TSA intends to change all of that. Across four technologies now in active deployment at airports nationwide, the agency is rethinking how checkpoints identify travelers, read their bags, and move them through. The argument is security, but efficiency runs a close second.
AUTOMATED SCREENING LANES
ASLs replace the single conveyor belt with a system of five individual bins moving simultaneously through an overhead scanner. Multiple travelers load simultaneously. Flagged bins divert automatically without halting the line for everyone else. Cleared bins return on their own. RFID tags on each bin track your belongings throughout.
Where you’ll find them: As of mid-2024, the TSA had installed ASLs at more than 200 airports nationwide. Major hubs where travelers are most likely to encounter them include New York (JFK and LGA), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), Atlanta (ATL), and Baltimore-Washington International (BWI). The lanes are being integrated with CT scanners as part of the agency’s broader checkpoint modernization program.
COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY
The flat, two-dimensional X-ray has served airport security for half a century, and its limits are well understood. CT scanners generate a full three-dimensional model of a bag’s contents, examined from any angle, and are considerably better at the distinctions that matter. The TSA has deployed 678 CT units to 218 airports and committed 15 million in the current fiscal year to continue expansion. At CT-equipped checkpoints, passengers do not need to remove laptops from their bags. The 3-1-1 liquids rule remains in place for now, though the TSA has indicated the technology could eventually allow liquids to stay in bags as well.
At CT-equipped checkpoints, laptops can stay in the bag. Liquids rules may follow.
Where you’ll find them: CT scanners are now operational at 218 airports, including major hubs such as Chicago O’Hare (ORD), JFK, LAX, MIA, and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta (ATL). If you are unsure whether your departure airport has CT in place, check the lane signage at the checkpoint — CT lanes are typically marked, and a TSA officer can confirm whether laptop removal is required.
CREDENTIAL AUTHENTICATION TECHNOLOGY
When a tired officer has checked ten thousand IDs under fluorescent light, the error rate is not zero. CAT units automate the document side of the transaction: reading machine-encoded data, cross-referencing the TSA’s Secure Flight database in near-real time, confirming a departing reservation, and flagging forgeries that exploit weaknesses in human visual processing. The second-generation CAT-2 units add a camera that captures a live image and compares it to the photo on the ID. The officer still makes the final call. What changes is the quality of information they are working with. Boarding passes are no longer exchanged — the system already knows your flight.
Where you’ll find them: CAT-2 units are currently deployed at approximately 350 airports nationwide — meaning the majority of travelers in the U.S. will encounter one at the ID verification point before the screening lane. Recent deployments have extended to smaller regional airports including Long Island MacArthur, Buffalo Niagara, Lehigh Valley, and Spokane, in addition to the major hubs where the rollout began.
BIOMETRICS
The most consequential and contested technology in the portfolio. Cameras at selected checkpoints capture a live image and compare it against passport photos and government-held imagery in seconds. Participation is currently voluntary — signage at CAT-2 locations informs travelers of that right, and any traveler can opt out and proceed with a standard ID check. The TSA’s roadmap moves from international travelers to PreCheck members to broader domestic deployment. The agency maintains that captured images are deleted after a positive match and are not stored or shared.
Where you’ll find them: Facial comparison is active at select checkpoints primarily through CAT-2 units, which are now at roughly 350 airports. PreCheck lanes at larger hubs are the most common point of encounter. CLEAR’s biometric eGates, a public-private partnership with TSA, are operational at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta (ATL), Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA), and Seattle-Tacoma (SEA), with additional airports in progress. The process, from live image capture to confirmed match, takes three to six seconds.
The choreography at the checkpoint is changing faster than most travelers realize. In many cases, it already has. Whether the changes work in your favor depends largely on which airport you are departing from — and, increasingly, how much of yourself you are willing to hand over before you board.