Travelers with TSA PreCheck will now be able to use an even more streamlined, designated security lane at 15 major airports in the United States. By using the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)’s PreCheck Touchless ID, travelers will be able to go through airport security without undergoing the standard identification procedure, which requires providing one’s ID. Instead, the traveler’s identification will be validated using the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)’s Traveler Verification Service (TVS). The latter is a facial recognition technology that “creates a secure biometric template of a passenger’s live facial image.”
The biometric template will be based on a photo taken of you by participating carriers, which currently include American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Alaska Airlines. Once you take your picture at an airport baggage drop-off or boarding area, that photo will be compared to others the government already has of you (like from your passport or visa) to identify you.
Eligible travelers will be able to opt into using the TSA PreCheck Touchless ID lanes via their airline’s check-in process. The carrier will add a “consent indicator” to that person’s mobile boarding pass, clearing them to go through the expedited PreCheck lane. Participation is voluntary and free if the person has already paid to travel through PreCheck. Travelers can opt out at any time, but the photo captured for the biometric template may be retained.
“Should you choose to opt-in to TSA PreCheck Touchless ID the TSA facial identification field demonstration, TSA will collect your data as described above for the purposes of identity verification, enhancing transportation security, and testing the effectiveness of facial identification under the authorities of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act and the TSA Modernization Act,” says the transportation authority.
What Else Should Travelers Know About TSA Pre-Check Touchless ID?
The designated line will expand to even more airports than the initial 15 it’s available at now. The governmental agency says, “As part of its ongoing efforts to enhance the identity verification of passengers by using facial identification technology at airports, [the] TSA looks to continue to expand this technology to additional airports with new airline partners at checkpoints, bag drop, and boarding areas for testing and evaluation purposes.”
See the airports where the TSA Touchless ID lanes will be below.
- Chicago O’Hare International Airport
- Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
- Denver International Airport
- Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
- Harry Reid International Airport (Las Vegas)
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
- John F. Kennedy International Airport (New York)
- LaGuardia Airport (New York)
- Los Angeles International Airport
- Newark Liberty International Airport (New Jersey)
- Portland International Airport (Oregon)
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (D.C.)
- Salt Lake City International Airport
- San Francisco International Airport
- Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
