Screening at Phoenix Sky Harbor to become stricter on electronics

PHOENIX — The Transportation Security Administration said it was expanding a screening policy already in place at Sky Harbor Airport that requires travelers to put tablets and laptops into separate bins.

The rollout, which affects all standard lanes, will eventually include every U.S. airports likely by the end of the year, the agency said Wednesday.

The federal government launched an improved security program on a trial basis in June. Phoenix was one of 10 test sites for a 3-D scanner designed to inspect carry-on luggage.

American Airlines, which flies out of Terminal 4 and was participating in the test, said at the time the technology could let passengers leave laptops, liquids and aerosols in their carry-on bags, speeding up the trip through the airport.

Now, any electronics bigger than a cellphone, including e-readers and handheld game consoles, will have to go down the conveyor belt and through the scanner in its own bin.

It’s how laptops have been screened for years, the TSA pointed out in a statement.

Travelers who paid to join the TSA’s prescreening program were exempt. Prescreened fliers with carry-on do not have to take off shoes, belts or light jackets, remove liquids that adhere to the limitation rules, or pull laptops from luggage.

A spokeswoman for Phoenix Sky Harbor referred questions about the screening policy to the TSA.

The other airports taking part in the testing phase are:

• Boise Airport

• Colorado Springs Airport

• Detroit Metropolitan Airport

• Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport

• Logan International Airport in Boston

• Los Angeles International Airport

• Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport in Texas

• Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Puerto Rico

• McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas

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