MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, FLA. (WSVN) - Transportation Security Administration officials have implemented state-of-the-art 3-D scanners at Miami International Airport in an effort to keeping passengers and employees safe during the coronavirus pandemic.
Daniel Ronan, TSA’s Federal Security Director for MIA, on Thursday showed 7News the new high-tech tool that agents will be using.
Thanks to the new CT 3-D scanners, going through security at MIA will look a little different and be a lot quicker.
“You can keep everything in your bag, and the new technology will result in TSA having to touch your bag less,” said Ronan.
Ronan said that in the middle of a global pandemic, every second counts, and the time adds up.
“One of the things that slows down a TSA checkpoint is when a passenger gets to the front of the line, they put their bag on the table and then they have to open it,” he said.
MIA is one of the first airports in the country to have the new scanners.
The technology is already available for checked bags, but the compact machines let passengers go through security without opening their carry-on luggage to take out items like laptops and liquids.
“[The scanners give us] the ability to virtually unpack a bag on the screen,” said Ronan.
A simulation conveyed how fast TSA agents are able to look at the content of a carry-on item, much like what visitors experience when entering a hospital.
Once a carry-on bag goes in, the machine scans it, giving the officer a high-resolution 3-D image of what’s inside.
Agents can also rotate that image any way they want.
Officials said streamlining this process will have a huge impact on the time it takes to get travelers through a checkpoint, thus limiting potential exposure to COVID-19.
“Get through screening, get on to their gate in preferably less than 10 minutes,” said Ronan.
It’s no secret air travel looks a lot different than it did a few months ago. Travelers walking into a terminal encounter markers on the ground, masks as far as the eye can see, plexiglass and sanitizing stations.
Now these new machines mean fewer reasons for someone else to touch their bags.
“It will speed it up for everybody, and it also makes it safer,” said Ronan.
With the pandemic, there aren’t as many people coming through MIA. Officials said that normally, at this time of year, more than 100,000 people will pass through the airport every day, but now that number has dropped to about 30,000.
The numbers do show signs of improvement. Our lowest number that we had in March was 3,500 passengers,” said MIA Director and CEO Lester Sola.
Airport officials said they have taken every step to make it as safe as possible for travelers.
Experts have some advice for passengers who are nervous about coming to the airport and going through security.
“The only thing that’s left now is for you as a passenger to take measures to understand, to follow the rules and govern yourselves accordingly so you can have a comfortable, but more importantly, safe travel experience,” said Sola.
MIA officials said, despite the new scanners, travelers should still check their flight status before going to the airport and give themselves enough time.
Anyone with questions and concerns about the coronavirus can call the Florida Department of Health’s 24-hour hotline at 1-866-779-6121.
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