TSA allowing some passengers to check into flights using fingerprints

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is testing a new screening technology that allows pre-vetted passengers to check into flights using their fingerprints instead of a boarding pass and identification card.

The voluntary biometric screening program is now being tested at the expedited screening lanes at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Denver International Airport, the TSA said in a press release Tuesday.

The authentication technology matches a passenger’s fingerprints to those that have already been provided to TSA when travelers enrolled in the TSA PreCheck program, which pre-vets passengers for expedited screening at the airport.

{mosads}Once the technology finds a fingerprint match, it is able to access the passenger’s boarding pass and identification information.

The TSA says the technology, which can also use other biometric traits like facial scans, has the potential to speed up the screening process, keep lines moving and enhance security.

This has been an increasing concern as terrorists look to so-called soft targets, or the crowded areas located outside of the security checkpoints in transit hubs.

“TSA looks at technologies and intelligence capabilities that allow us to analyze and secure the travel environment, passengers and their property,” said Steve Karoly, TSA’s acting assistant administrator of requirements and capabilities analysis.

“Through these and other technology demonstrations, we are looking to reinvent and enhance security effectiveness to meet the evolving threat and ensure that passengers get to their destinations safely.”