On Sunday, October 18, TSA screened over 1 million passengers for the first time since March 17, 2020.
“We are seeing about a 40 percent recovery of the system overall. While some airports are seeing a faster recovery, particularly those in more popular leisure travel destinations, the trend is very positive,” said David Pekoske, Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
During the pandemic, TSA has made great strides in improving safety and security for the traveling public through the use of credential authentication technology, x-ray technology for carry-on bags, and advanced imaging technology for traveler body scans.
“We’ve made the identification check at security nearly contactless, with new technology that allows the traveler to insert their driver’s license into a machine – instead of handing it to an agent – and the machine tells the agent if the identification is valid and even checks the traveler’s flight status while they are standing there,” said Pekoske.
The pandemic will result in positive, long-term changes to the way TSA operates.
“At TSA, we have experienced unparalleled cooperation with airports, airlines and the travel industry, enabling us to become even more agile, assess issues more rapidly and come up with a solution quickly,” said Pekoske.
“The TSA workforce has been phenomenal during this challenging time and our front-line employees have been able to forge better relationships with passengers, which is critical in building confidence and ensuring convenience for the passengers.”
“The advances in technology and enhancements in sanitization should make passengers feel very confident when traveling by air,” said Pekoske. “When I’ve traveled during this pandemic, my experience has been uniformly positive, with the overwhelming majority of passengers following health guidelines and TSA and airlines doing a fantastic job of making passengers feel very safe.”
Administrator Pekoske spoke at the GBTA webinar titled “TSA: Leveraging Technology and Innovation to Stay Healthy and Stay Secure”. To view the recording of this webinar or for more information on future webinars, visit gbta.org.
