Touchless ID process newest TSA innovation at Harry Reid Airport
A new touchless security checkpoint system is operating at Harry Reid International Airport, just in time for Labor Day travel and in advance of fall and winter holidays and next year’s arrival of the World Cup soccer tournament.
TSA PreCheck Touchless ID uses facial recognition technology to move passengers through the Transportation Security Administration line faster than ever before.
Passengers must be enrolled in TSA PreCheck, have a valid passport and be flying on American, Delta or United from Las Vegas to use the new system. Thirteen other airports have the technology first used at Reid International and in some of those airports, Alaska Airlines is a partner. Technology vendor ASRC Federal is working to add airlines and airports to the program.
“It has significantly increased the speed at which we can move people through screening,” said Mike Horton, vice president of national security at ASRC Federal and former chief data officer for the Department of Homeland Security.
The new system eliminates the first step in the screening process. With Touchless ID, passengers do not have to place their identification into a card reader and take a photograph to verify identity. Instead, preregistered passengers can pass through the line as sensors compare biometric data as they walk through.
To participate, passengers must upload passport information with their airline and be enrolled in TSA PreCheck.
Touchless security is the latest change implemented to quicken the security check process.
Other TSA changes
In May, the TSA transitioned to requiring passengers to have REAL ID to clear security. The Department of Homeland Security reported earlier this summer that airport checkpoints have seen a 94 percent compliance rate which has led to a more efficient security process.
In July, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced a new policy: that passengers would no longer have to remove their shoes when passing through security lines at all airports.
Other policies remain in place, including removing laptop computers from carry-on bags, and removing belts and jackets before entering scanners. But the shoe-removal policy was put in place after Richard Reid, a British terrorist, attempted to detonate an explosive device concealed in his shoes on a transatlantic flight in 2001. Reid is serving a life term in a Colorado prison.
The newest technology innovation is faster because security officers don’t have to handle a photo ID or a boarding pass, Horton said.
“It’s one more thing to get travelers on their way quicker,” he said.
The technology is now operating at airports in Atlanta; Washington D.C.; Denver; Dallas-Fort Worth; Los Angeles; Newark, New Jersey; two in New York; Portland, Oregon; Seattle; Salt Lake City and Chicago O’Hare.
Retiring Clark County Aviation Director Rosemary Vassiliadis said she’s proud that the TSA has confidence in Las Vegas to bring innovative technology here first. An innovation center dedicated to testing new technology is set up at Reid’s Terminal 3.
“The willingness of that director to get all of those people around the table to say, ‘How can we make this airport better for our customers?’ is what led to the Innovation Center being installed into Harry Reid,” Horton said. “There’s an entire section where they have set up forward-leaning technology and some research-and-development area to allow not just vendors like us, but others to show off and showcase technology that could increase what amounts to customer satisfaction.”
ASRC Federal is owned by Arctic Slope Regional Corp., an Alaska Native Corp., and is the largest of 12 such companies. It was created in 1971 in an exchange for land to provide Alaska native people a means to bid on projects to provide long-term opportunities to support their way of life, culture and traditions.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.
