The TSA Unveils the First Self-Service Security Checkpoint

The first TSA self-service option will soon be live.  

Officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) this week unveiled what could very well be the future of airport security in the U.S., a self-screening lane at Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport.

The self-service option, which was teased late in 2023, is set to be put into use in mid-March, potentially marking a new era of airport security.

The checkpoint is a prototype, only available at Harry Reid and only for TSA PreCheck passengers. TSA promises that the checkpoint’s standards are just as high as the regular screening lanes, despite it being self-service versus the more hands-on approach.

It works by sending a passenger down one checkpoint lane with four integrated stations, each one containing a video monitor that instructs passengers what to do and when. Passengers are instructed on how to stand when being scanned, what to do with their bags, and then how to exit, all without a real-life TSA agent involved, unless there is a need for additional screening.

The AP, which was on hand to test the technology, called the late a “futuristic-looking baggage and personal belongings inspection system” that “looks like a scaled-down starship medical magnetic resonance imaging machine.” It also said that the technology was sensitive enough to alert about a forgotten handkerchief in a traveler’s pocket.

The plan is to assess its performance, collect data and passenger feedback, and then use that for future checkpoint designs.

“Testing at the Innovation Checkpoint in Las Vegas gives us an opportunity to collect valuable user data and insights, and explore opportunities to apply parts of the prototype to other airport security checkpoints. I am grateful for our partners in S&T and LAS airport, who were critical in bringing this vision to reality,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske.