Fort Wayne International Airport (FWA) in Indiana gets a new credential authentication technology (CAT) unit at the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint.
A CAT unit includes a passport reader, ID card reader, federal personal identity verification ID card reader, monitor, UV light and stand. For authentication, passengers will be required to place their personal identification into the scanner at the travel document checking station.
This will reduce a touchpoint as passengers will not be asked to give their boarding passes. However, passengers under the age of 18 and/or those with ID issues may be asked to provide their boarding passes. The CAT unit will validate that the passenger is prescreened to travel out of the airport for a flight that day.
TSA Indiana federal security director Aaron Batt said: “The new credential authentication technology unit enhances our detection capabilities for identifying fraudulent ID documents and improves the passenger experience by increasing efficiency during the screening process. “The CAT unit also reduces touchpoints at the checkpoint, which benefits both officers and travellers during this pandemic.”
Passengers will still be required to check in with their airline before travel and bring their boarding pass to their gate agent to show the airline representative prior to boarding.
This solution is expected to aid the process of detecting fraudulent documents at the security checkpoint.
Meanwhile, a second CAT unit is being used for training purposes. CAT units are capable of authenticating several thousand ID types, including passports, permanent resident cards, US visas, driver’s licences and photo IDs issued by state motor vehicle departments.
The units can also authenticate military common access cards, uniformed services ID cards, retired military ID cards and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Trusted Traveler ID cards. Recently, TSA placed an order with security technology solutions provider Analogic for the delivery of mid-sized computed tomography (CT) X-ray systems.
