USA’s TSA will install 40 luggage CT scanners in airports this year

The technology gives agents clearer views of luggage contents.

The TSA has been using CT scanners to screen airline passengers’ luggage since last year — early tests of the technology have been taking place in Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport and Boston’s Logan International Airport. But now, the agency has shared its plans for CT technology going forward, including expansions into additional airports. American Airlines announced earlier this month that a CT scanner was being set up in New York’s JFK airport and the TSA says Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport and Washington-Dulles International Airport are among those that will have CT scanners in the near future.

“TSA is committed in getting the best technology to enhance security and improve the screening experience,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a statement. “Use of CT technology substantially improves TSA’s threat detection capability at the checkpoint. By leveraging strong partnerships with industry, we are able to deploy new technology quickly and see an immediate improvement in security effectiveness.”

The scanners give TSA agents clearer views of luggage contents than do traditional x-ray machines, and images can be rotated 360 degrees. In the future, the machines may allow passengers to leave items like laptops and liquids in their bags as they go through security checkpoints.

By the end of the year, the TSA plans to have up to 40 scanners placed in various airports and by the end of fiscal year 2019, it aims to have 145 machines deployed. Sixteen CT scanners will also be placed in federal testing facilities by the end of 2018. Along with the airports listed above, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Houston Hobby Airport, Indianapolis International Airport, McCarran International Airport, Oakland International Airport, Philadelphia International Airport, San Diego International Airport and St. Louis Lambert International Airport will receive the remainder of the first 15 units. Additional airports will receive CT scanners in the coming months.