Feds to add CT scanners to check carry-on bags at Phoenix airport
Jul 5, 2016, 11:44 AM
(AP Photo)
PHOENIX — Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport will be the testing ground for a security program that will use CT scanners to examine carry-on luggage.
The Transportation Security Administration said Tuesday that the in-depth scans of baggage will begin before the end of the year.
The move affects only one checkpoint.
Federal officials said the expanded testing would improve security and hopefully speed up airport lines by eliminating human screeners having to look over X-rays of each bag.
In May, American Airlines announced it was hiring outside screening help for its major hubs, including Phoenix, to ease some of the long lines.
Customers forced to wait in long security lines complained to the airline, and the airline, in turn, complained to the federal government.
The airline referred to the lengthy lines as “unacceptable.”
Computed-tomography scanners are already used to screen checked baggage. A glitch in the screening system in the spring caused thousands of pieces of checked luggage to be left behind at Sky Harbor for nearly two days.
TSA said it will work with American Airlines to make other screening changes in the fall at airports in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and Miami.
If all goes well, lines will quicken by a projected 30 percent, the agency said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.