United, American open high-tech, faster security lanes as Thanksgiving nears

United and American airlines are introducing quicker, more efficient security lanes at O'Hare International Airport, with the goal of reducing the type of bottlenecks that caused hundreds of travelers to miss flights this spring. American Airlines has been sending passengers through two automated lanes at one of its Terminal 3 security checkpoints for about a week. United Airlines' three lanes, at a Terminal 1 checkpoint for TSA PreCheck customers, opened Monday. The new lanes let up to five passengers at a time put luggage in bins for screening, rather than the single-file line where efficient travelers were thwarted by slower passengers. A conveyor system automatically diverts bags in need of extra screening without halting the line — and separates flagged bags with possible weapons from those with oversized containers of shampoo. The system also takes a photo of each bag's exterior that is linked to the X-ray of its contents and a unique radio frequency identification tag on its bin, to make it easier for agents to keep track of bags, and has a parallel conveyor belt that automatically brings empty bins back to the front of the line, similar to the ball return at a bowling alley. Ferrying empty luggage bins back to the front of the line has been a job of TSA agents. The TSA has estimated the system cuts the time passengers spend in screening by about 30%. United has seen "up to 100% improvement" in automated lanes it installed last month in Los Angeles, said John Slater, VP of United's O'Hare hub.<br/>