Pittsburgh Airport gets new technology to improve TSA checkpoint screening

PITTSBURGH — TSA at the Pittsburgh International Airport revealed new technology Wednesday that can confirm the identification of a traveler and their flight information.

According to a release, this deployment is the latest generation of Credential Authentication Technology (CAT). The first generations of CAT was created to scan a traveler’s photo identification, confirm the traveler’s identity as well as their flight details.

The new CAT generation, known as CAT-2, has the same capabilities as previous generations, but now they are equipped with a camera that takes a real-time photo of the traveler.

CAT-2 compares the traveler’s photo on the ID and the in-person, real-time photo. Once a match is confirmed, a TSA officer verifies and the traveler can continue through the checkpoint. Travelers will not exchange boarding passes and real-time photos will be deleted.

“Identity verification of every traveler prior to flying is a key step in the security screening process,” said Karen Keys-Turner, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “This technology enhances detection capabilities for identifying fraudulent IDs such as driver’s licenses and passports at a checkpoint and it increases efficiency by automatically verifying a passenger’s identification. We just want to ensure that you are who you say you are.”

This technology enhances detection capabilities for identifying fraudulent documents at the security checkpoint, according to the release.

The photos are used to match the person standing at the travel document checking podium with the photo on the ID that is being presented.

Travelers will still need to check-in with their airline and bring a boarding pass to their gate to show before boarding their flight.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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