American Airlines opened two new automated security screening lanes at Miami International Airport (MIA) Terminal D Oct. 24, the airline’s fourth US rollout of the technology deployed in partnership with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
Dallas/Fort Worth-based American has previously opened automated security screening lanes at its hubs at Chicago O’Hare (ORD), Dallas/Fort Worth and New York JFK.
“Airports in the future must be about moving passengers from reservation to destination, through an almost invisible yet integrated ecosystem of distributed security, with less stress and frustration for both passengers and the officers who screen them,” TSA Miami federal security director Daniel Ronan said. “These new, innovative automated screening lanes enable us to do that by automating several of the functions previously conducted manually, thereby increasing security effectiveness and enabling passengers to move more swiftly and efficiently throughout the checkpoint.”
American funded the new screening lanes, which feature automated belts that draw bags into X-ray machines and then return empty bins back to the queue after screening is completed. Bags tagged as potential threats are directed to a separate area, allowing subsequent bags and bins to proceed through the system unimpeded. Other features include property bins 25% larger than bins in regular screening lanes; radio frequency identification (RFID) tags attached to each bin; and cameras that photograph the outside of the bag, which are linked to the X-ray image of the bag’s contents.
American trialed the automated screening lanes previously at five US airports in 2016, also including Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL).
In June, American and TSA partnered to demonstrate computed tomography (CT) technology built by L3 Technologies at a checkpoint lane at Phoenix Sky Harbor International’s Terminal 4. That same month, American agreed to buy $6 million worth of Boston-based manufacturer Analogic’s ConneCT screening systems. As described by Analogic, CT technology’s three-dimensional scanning capability makes it possible to allow passengers to leave liquids, gels, aerosols, and laptops in their carry-on bags. For security screeners, the technology offers the ability to more clearly identify potential threat items, including those concealed within personal electronic devices. TSA certified Analogic’s CT scanners in September, paving the way for the screening system’s rollout at US airports. Analogic is also testing its CT machines at Amsterdam’s Schiphol and Tokyo’s Narita airports.
Other US airlines are pursuing automated baggage checkpoints as well. In March, United Airlines opened a fully automated baggage screening lane checkpoint, built by UK-based L3 MacDonald Humfrey, at Newark Liberty International Airport’s Terminal C. United also has automated screening lanes in operation at ORD and LAX. Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines partnered in the testing of automated screening lanes at ATL last year.
Mark Nensel mark.nensel@penton.com
