In a decision that should only make cheap airplane tickets and cheap vacation packages all that more attractive, the Transportation Security Administration is moving forward to test machines that match travelers boarding passes with their government issued IDs, while verifying the documents are genuine.
These machines will be used to assist TSA travel document checkers who currently verify documents with ultraviolet flashlights and magnifying loupes.
Todays security inspection of government IDs and boarding passes is inadequate as evidenced by an Indiana University doctoral student who designed a website which allowed people to make fake boarding passes to demonstrate how easy it is to use a fake boarding pass at security checkpoints. Once through security a terrorist could use a real boarding pass secured using an alias to board a plane.
Earlier this year a Nigerian passenger was arrested after he flew across the country using a false boarding pass. Other phony boarding passes were found in his luggage.
The new machines will authenticate government issued IDs by matching up the written information on the IDs with information encoded in IDs bar codes, magnetic strips or computer chips. It will also match IDs to boarding passes.
TSA praises the new technology because it will help facilitate risk based security, while making the process more effective and efficient.
A total of 30 machines, made by three different companies, at a cost of $79 million per company, will be tested at undisclosed U.S. airports. www.cheapfares.com