NEWARK, N.J. - Nineteen and done!
Officials from the Transportation Security Administration and United Airlines celebrated the completion of a new large 19-lane modern checkpoint at Newark Liberty International Airport’s (EWR) Terminal C today with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The new checkpoint includes 17 automated security screening lanes and two standard checkpoint lanes.
The first of the new state-of-the-art checkpoint technology lanes at EWR opened just two days before the busy Thanksgiving holiday last fall, and the remaining lanes have been phased in during the course of the past few months.
Since Thanksgiving, additional automated screening lanes have been deployed in stages to help handle the approximate 60,000 passengers per day who fly out of the busy New York metropolitan area airport. Now all 19 lanes are operational and in use by passengers.
Driven by TSA’s Innovative Task Force, automated screening lanes are an excellent example of the public-private partnership between TSA and its aviation partners. United Airlines provides the initial equipment investment while TSA ensures proper operational deployment and long-term maintenance.
“Our partnership with United Airlines has been an important step in enhancing the traveler experience here at Newark while maintaining effective security," said TSA Acting Administrator Huban Gowadia. “This collaboration is a perfect example of how business and government have worked hand-in-hand to benefit tens of thousands of passengers who are traveling out of United’s hub here at Newark Liberty International Airport every day. It is nothing short of a model partnership."
“I’m proud to say that no airport in the country has more of these new automated screening lanes than right here at Newark Liberty, and it is already resulting in a more positive passenger experience," said TSA’s New Jersey Federal Security Director Thomas Carter. “Our main priority is to protect passengers traveling out of Newark in an evolving threat environment."
“At United, we pursue innovation in everything that we do, on the ground and in the air," said Greg Hart, United’s executive vice president and chief operations officer. “The opening of our fully redesigned, state-of-the-art checkpoint in Newark - New York’s premier trans-Atlantic gateway - continues our commitment to use the latest technology to improve the airport experience for our customers."
The new screening lanes offer several features designed to improve the screening of travelers by automating many of the functions previously conducted manually, which allows travelers to move more swiftly and efficiently through the checkpoint. These innovations include:
* Stainless steel countertops that were constructed to enable several passengers to place their items in bins simultaneously;
* Automated conveyor belts that draw bins into the X-ray machines, and return the bins back to the front of the queue for passengers;
* Parallel divestiture rollers that automatically push alarmed bags to a separate area to allow bins behind it to continue through the screening process uninterrupted;
* Property bins that are 25 percent larger than the bins in standard screening lanes, and are large enough to hold roller bags;
* Unique Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags that are attached to each bin to allow for additional accountability of a traveler’s items as they transit throughout the security process;
* Cameras that capture photographic images of the contents of each bin, which are linked side-by-side to the X-ray image of a bag’s contents.
TSA continues to collaborate with vendors, airlines, airports, and across the counter-terrorism community to roll out additional automated checkpoint lanes to improve the screening process as well as help minimize wait times. TSA’s long-term goal is to incorporate enhanced capabilities at checkpoint lanes throughout the country.
“Our responsibility remains keeping passengers safe while also moving through security as efficiently as possible," Carter said.
There are currently 48 automated screening lanes deployed at four U.S. airports.
* Newark Liberty International Airport: 17
* Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport: 19
* Los Angeles International Airport: 7
* Chicago O’Hare International Airport: 5
Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration
