US: New airport baggage screening technology coming to O'Hare

A new scanner at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport might someday eliminate the need to unpack those quart-size bags of liquids. The new computed tomography scanner at O’Hare’s Terminal 1 produces three-dimensional images that TSA agents can view from different angles to get a better view of the contents of passengers’ bags. Passengers may not see the new scanner in use until after the holidays — the TSA still needs to test it and train the employees who will operate it. Airports in Phoenix and Boston were the first to test the technology in June 2017. The CT scanners are now in nearly two dozen airports, and the TSA plans to have more than 190 scanners in use by the end of next year, said TSA spokesman Mark Howell. If the new technology lives up to its promise, giving TSA agents a better view of bags being scanned will mean they won’t have to do as many hands-on searches, making security more efficient for passengers. The TSA doesn’t have data yet on whether the new scanners have increased efficiency. The machines seem to reduce the need for hands-on bag checks, Howell said, but as with any new technology, there’s a learning curve for both agents and passengers. O’Hare will be the first airport to combine the CT scanner with a new type of screening lane first introduced at O’Hare in late 2016. The newer lanes let multiple passengers place their bags in bins for screening at the same time and automatically divert bags flagged for extra review without halting those behind them. They also have a second conveyor system that shuttles empty bins back to the front of the line. “It’s what we’re hoping the future of the checkpoints will be,” he said.<br/>