BALTIMORE, Md. — TSA is rolling out a new scanner at Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) Thurgood Marshall Airport that allows for a more in-depth view of luggage, spotting explosives that older machines could miss.
The brand-new Analogic 3D CT scanner gives screeners the ability to zoom in and rotate the bag for a 360-degree view.
Transportation Security Administration Administrator David Pekoske calls the scanners revolutionary.
“What they’re capable of doing is detecting a wider range of explosives, which is very important, [as well as] a much lower weight of explosives,” Pekoske told WJZ-TV. “They’re just much better at detection, so you really get better security faster, essentially.”
TSA plans to have 15 scanners deployed to airports throughout the country by the end of the year and is authorized to buy up to 240 by in 2019.
They’ll need about 2,000 to cover every airport checkpoint in the country.
The new technology is expected to have a major impact on the way fliers travel.
“Just getting to that point when, in a non-precheck lane, you’re able to keep your liquids, gels, aerosols, and laptops and electronics in your bags. It’s a new era if you will, and we’re really excited about it,” said Jose Freig, American Airlines’ head of security.
Congress is pushing the TSA to get the scanners out as quickly as possible, but it will take years to replace the old X-ray machines at every airport.
