The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has installed 11 new computed tomography (CT) scanners for carry-on baggage screening in Terminal B at Newark Liberty International Airport, to help meet rising demand this summer season.
The system creates a 3D image that can be viewed and rotated 360°on three axes for thorough visual image analysis by a transportation security officer. TSA says the technology creates such a clear image of a bag’s contents that the system can automatically detect explosives, including liquids, by shooting hundreds of images with an X-ray camera spinning around the conveyor belt to provide TSA officers with the three-dimensional views of the contents of a carry-on bag.
It takes a few extra seconds for the TSA officer to view the image and rotate it to get a better understanding of its contents, however in most instances, rotating the image enables the TSA officer to identify an item inside the bag and clear it without the need to open it for inspection.
As an added passenger convenience, with the use of these new CT units, travelers may now leave their laptops and other electronic devices in their carry-on bags along with their small 3-1-1 liquids.
Since mid-May, TSA has seen multiple days break into the top 10 busiest days in the agency’s 22-year history. Typically, TSA had been screening approximately 2.5 million people per day nationwide, however since last month, the number of people screened has increased by several hundred thousand per day, with TSA officers screening 3 million individuals per day at checkpoints for the very first time. TSA expects to screen more than 32 million individuals from Thursday, June 27, through Monday, July 8, which is a 5.4% increase over 2023 Independence Day holiday travel volumes.
In related news, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently began accepting New York-issued mobile driver licenses (mDLs) at checkpoints with digital ID readers nationwide. Click here to read the full story.