You may not have to take your laptop out of your luggage anymore when you’re going through security at the airport. A new CT scanner is going to roll out to TSA security lines in the US this summer, reports Bloomberg Government.
The days of needing specialized travel bags with fold-out laptop sections to get through security may be coming to a close. In a press call last week, TSA Administrator David Pekoske announced that the agency had signed a contract to get 300 CT scanning machines.
The CT scanners can provide TSA agents with a three-dimensional view of luggage contents, and will detect some items automatically in the future.
Airport security: gradually growing more tolerable
Some of these scanners have already been in place at airports in the US as part of a pilot program. Those machines didn’t result in security lines speeding up, but a more complete roll-out of the technology and increased familiarity with the scanners could eventually quicken the pace. Pekoske believes more staff may be required initially, though.
If 300 machines doesn’t sound like much when considering the number of airport security lines there are throughout all the terminals in all the airports in the country, that’s because it’s not a lot. The agency aims to replace more than 2,000 X-Ray machines with the CT scanners, and President Trump is already seeking an additional 300 machines in the 2020 budget.
The airports that will get the initial roll-out of these machines haven’t been confirmed, but the TSA aims to continue replacing X-Ray machines over the next eight years.
Until then, you may not want to bury your laptop too deep in your luggage.
Source: techradar.com
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