TSA expands new airport screening systems.
Don’t be surprised on your next trip if you arrive at your local Transportation Security Administration checkpoint and are told no boarding pass is required.
At a rapidly expanding number of airports, the TSA staff is using the Credential Authentication Technology system to scan your driver’s license or other government identification. The system authenticates the identification, confirms the flight reservation associated with the ID, checks for pre-screening status such as TSA PreCheck, and cross-references the passenger name with security alerts—all without needing to scan a boarding pass.
The TSA has installed more than 1,600 CAT units in 175 airports over the past three years. The number of airports using the system has grown nearly 50% from the number reported just last year. Not requiring passengers to fumble with phone screens or search pockets for a paper boarding pass means the screening process moves faster. The TSA estimates on a crowded day, this means a reduction of 10-15 minutes of waiting time.
The new screening process
“No, just your ID,” the TSA agent told me when I arrived at the screening kiosk at Denver International Airport (DEN), paper boarding pass in hand. It was probably the 100th time he said those words that day, but he nodded and said “thanks” when I complimented him on the new system. “It definitely helps,” he added as he swiped my driver’s license through the scanner as though it were a credit card, then checked the information on his screen.
While I couldn’t see the agent’s monitor, per the TSA CAT website, first up was an enlarged photo of me to help the agent verify my physical appearance matched the photo on my ID. The system then cross-referenced my ID with no-fly lists and current security alerts and confirmed the Trusted Traveler programs in which I’m enrolled. After the system confirmed my flight details, it verified I was checked in on a flight departing that day. This all happened pretty fast; I was permitted to proceed to the screening area in less than half a minute.
Acceptable IDs for the CAT program include:
-U.S. passport or passport card
-Global Entry card
-Nexus card
-Permanent resident card
-Driver’s license from the U.S. or Canada that’s Real ID compliant
Passengers must still check in for their flights, either in person or online. If you’re not sure whether your airport has the CAT system, keep your boarding pass handy. The TSA agent will let you know if you need just your ID or your ID plus boarding pass.
Note: you still need to present a boarding pass—either an electronic or paper version—at the departure gate, so don’t tuck it away in your bag or turn off your phone before boarding.
Major airports now using the CAT technology include:
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI)
Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT)
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL)
Denver International Airport (DEN)
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW)
Dulles International Airport (IAD)
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL)
George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
Harry Reid International Airport (LAS)
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY)
Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU)
Miami International Airport (MIA)
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP)
Nashville International Airport (BNA)
Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC)
Oakland International Airport (OAK)
O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
Orlando International Airport (MCO)
Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT)
Portland International Airport (PDX)
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)
San Diego International Airport (SAN)
San Francisco International Airport (SFO).
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC)
Twist’s Take: Don’t be surprised if you need only your ID the next time you go through TSA screening.
