TSA fingerprint scanning might be on its way to an airport near you
The TSA wants to replace paperwork with fingerprints.
The security agency will begin scanning the fingerprints of volunteer TSA pre-check passengers this week at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Denver International Airport, according to a news release.
The idea is to make airport lines more efficient by replacing boarding passes and IDs with a quick fingerprint scan. The scan matches fingerprints to a database of fingerprints that passengers gave the TSA when they applied to the pre-check program.
But while the program hopes to make traveling more convenient in the future, for passengers who volunteer to have their prints scanned in Atlanta and Denver, the process will just be another task they have to do before they can get on their flight. Passengers will still have to show their boarding pass and IDs because the fingerprint scanning program is just a trial, and the TSA needs to assess how accurate it is before implementing it on a wider scale.
“TSA looks at technologies and intelligence capabilities that allow us to analyze and secure the travel environment, passengers and their property,” TSA Acting Assistant Administrator Steve Karoly said in a statement. “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.”
Colin is Mashable's US & World Reporter. He previously interned at Foreign Policy magazine and The American Prospect. Colin is a graduate from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. When he's not at Mashable, you can most likely find him eating or playing some kind of sport.
