San Francisco’s checkpoint of the future

Everybody wants to pass through security with less hassle while still being assured that the bad guys don’t slip something nasty onboard.

To that end, a new kind of security checkpoint just debuted at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Billed as the “checkpoint of the future”, the set-up is adjacent to Concourse A in SFO’s International Terminal.

This security lane could improve security, cut costs and make negotiating security more convenient for travelers. Should passengers eventually end up walking through this high-tech portal (so far it’s not being used to actually screen them for entry into the airport’s secure areas) their personal items could be subject to: a millimeter wave and quadruple resonance device that scans you and your shoes, and computed tomography that screens carry-ons.

The idea is to use the same high-tech solution that is employed when belly bags (checked luggage bound for the cargo hold of an aircraft) are examined. “Advanced explosives detection in U.S. airports is currently only in widespread use for screening checked luggage,” says Matthew Farr, a senior homeland security analyst for Frost & Sullivan.

GE manufactures the gear used in this San Francisco security lab. The company hopes that the technology and procedures developed at the checkpoint will translate someday into a more humane screening experience. The aim is for flummoxed flyers to no longer have to remove shoes, coats, and cell phones before passing through security and to keep laptop computers in their cases.

GE’s idea in setting up the San Francisco experiment is eventually to make the Transportation Security Administration's job easier, and passengers’ journey through airport security a bit more rational.

© Cheapflights Ltd Jerry Chandler