“Today’s checkpoint was designed four decades ago to stop hijackers carrying metal weapons,” said Bisignani. “Since then we have grafted on more complex procedures to meet emerging threats. We are more secure but it is time to rethink everything. We need a process that responds to today’s threat. It must amalgamate intelligence based on passenger information and new technology. That means moving from a system that looks for bad objects to one that can find bad people.”
The checkpoint of the future will have three lanes—known traveler, normal and enhanced security. Which lane the passenger uses is determined by a biometric identifier in the passport or other travel document that triggers the results of a risk assessment conducted by the government before the passenger arrives at the airport.
The primary identification check will be an iris scan of all passengers. Those who are categorized as a “known traveler,” who have registered and completed background checks with government authorities, will simply walk through the tunnel that uses x-ray and conducts metal and liquid scans. A “normal traveler” will also get a shoe and explosive trace scan while those who require an “enhanced” screening will get an advanced x-ray and full body scan.
ICAO and 19 governments, including the U.S., are now working to define standards for a checkpoint of the future (ATW Airport's Today, March 7). “We have the ability to move to the biometric scanning and three-lane concept right now. And while some of the technology still needs to be developed, even by just re-purposing what we have today we could see major changes in two or three years’ time,” said Bisignani.
