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One of the challenges of the return to normal air travel is the identity checks in airports. The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is using new technology to confirm the validity of travelers’ identification and verify their flight information, helping in the fight against the spread of the coronavirus. The technology “enhances detection capabilities for identifying fraudulent ID such as driver’s licenses and passports at checkpoints and increases efficiency by automatically verifying passenger identification.
Syracuse Hancock International Airport passengers must insert their ID directly into a scanner, eliminating the need for a TSA officer to touch the ID. The new system will then verify the authenticity of the ID and confirm that the traveler is scheduled to fly out of the airport that day. Fake or out-of-date IDs are flagged on a monitor.
However, a boarding pass may be requested for travelers under the age of 18 or those whose IDs cannot be verified by the system, the agency said. And travelers will still need to check in with their airline in advance and show their boarding pass at the gate before boarding their flight, it said.
The new CAT system (Credential Authentication Technology) can authenticate several thousand types of IDs. The unit consists of a passport reader, an ID card reader, a federal personal identity verification ID card reader, a monitor, a stand and a UV light, according to securityinfowatch.com.
