ALBANY, N.Y.–Individuals flying out of Albany and Syracuse Hancock International Airports for the Thanksgiving vacation will come face-to-face with the newest new safety enhancement on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) safety checkpoints. The new expertise, which was put in earlier this month, confirms the validity of a traveler’s identification (ID) by matching the face on their ID with the face of the particular person standing on the journey doc checking podium.

Airport safety checkpoints can be busier than ever this Thanksgiving vacation journey season and the brand new expertise will improve safety for vacation vacationers who’re flying out of Albany and Syracuse.

The new credential authentication expertise models are geared up with cameras and match the person’s face with the face that seems on the traveler’s ID such because the particular person’s license or passport. The expertise enhances detection capabilities for figuring out fraudulent paperwork on the safety checkpoint. The pictures usually are not saved and are solely used to match the particular person standing on the journey doc checking podium with the photograph on the ID that’s being offered.

“These new units are valuable because they enhance detection capabilities for identifying fraudulent IDs such as driver’s licenses and passports at a checkpoint and it increases efficiency by automatically verifying a passenger’s identification,” mentioned Bart R. Johnson, TSA’s Federal Security Director for Upstate New York. “We are fortunate to have these units installed ahead of the busy holiday travel period. This helps ensure that we know who is boarding flights. The system also confirms the passenger’s flight status by verifying that the individual is ticketed to fly out of that airport on that day.”

As an extra function, the unit is “self-service,” that means that the passengers insert their ID and don’t have handy it to a TSA officer. Thus the models cut back touchpoints and pace the method. Travelers insert their ID, take a look at the digital camera and if the ID is validated, the traveler then proceeds into the checkpoint. Even with TSA’s use of those models, vacationers nonetheless must check-in with their airline prematurely and convey their boarding move to their gate to indicate the airline consultant earlier than boarding their flight.

Thanksgiving journey season begins as we speak, Friday, Nov. 17, and concludes Tuesday, Nov. 28. During the 12-day interval, TSA expects to display 30 million passengers throughout the nation. Historically, the three busiest journey days are the Tuesday and Wednesday previous to Thanksgiving and the Sunday afterward. TSA officers predict this to be the busiest Thanksgiving interval within the company’s historical past.

“The professional and dedicated workforce at TSA remains committed to ensuring the safety and security of those traveling from airports in Upstate New York,” Johnson mentioned. “During the Thanksgiving holiday, we expect a surge of travelers at the airport and strongly encourage travelers to give themselves ample time to get through the TSA security checkpoint so they can safely make their scheduled flights.”

Travelers ought to preserve these prime suggestions in thoughts earlier than arriving on the airport:

1. Pack sensible; begin with empty baggage. Passengers who begin with an empty bag whereas packing are much less more likely to carry prohibited objects by means of the checkpoint. Certain meals, reminiscent of gravy, cranberry sauce, wine, jam and preserves have to be packed in a checked bag as a result of they’re thought-about to be liquids or gels. If you possibly can spill it, spray it, unfold it, pump it or pour it, then it’s a liquid and have to be packed in your checked bag. As at all times, passengers might carry stable meals reminiscent of truffles and different baked items by means of the TSA checkpoint. Check for prohibited objects through the use of the “What Can I Bring?” web page on TSA.gov. or simply ask @AskTSA.

2. 

   Bring a suitable ID and have it out within the screening lane. Before heading to the airport, vacationers should be sure that they’ve acceptable identification. Identity verification is a vital step within the safety screening course of. At many checkpoints, the TSO might ask you to insert your bodily ID into one among our Credential Authentication Technology units, the place a boarding move just isn’t wanted.
   The second technology of CAT, known as CAT-2, is at present deployed to 25 airports and provides a digital camera and smartphone reader to the opposite CAT options. The digital camera captures a real-time photograph of the traveler on the podium and compares the traveler’s photograph on the identification credential towards the in-person, real-time photograph. Once the CAT-2 confirms the match, the TSO verifies and directs the traveler for applicable safety screening with out ever exchanging a boarding move. Photos are by no means saved or used for another goal than rapid id verification.  Passenger participation is voluntary and if a passenger chooses to not have their photograph taken, they could have their id verified manually as a substitute with out shedding their place in line. For extra info on how TSA is utilizing facial recognition expertise to boost safety effectiveness, enhance operational effectivity and yield a extra streamlined passenger expertise, go to https://www.tsa.gov/news/press/factsheets/facial-recognition-technology.

3. Arrive early. The airport can be busy this week, so arrive two hours previous to your scheduled flight to permit for enough time to park your automotive or arrive through public transit or rideshare, examine baggage and undergo safety screening earlier than arriving on the gate.
4. If you intend to journey with a firearm, it’s essential to correctly pack the firearm in a hard-sided, locked case in your checked bag and declare it with the airline on the ticket counter when checking in. Passengers are prohibited from packing firearms in carry-on baggage and bringing them to the airport safety checkpoint and onboard plane. Bringing a firearm to a TSA checkpoint is dear and time-consuming and may trigger delays. The most civil penalty for bringing a firearm to a TSA checkpoint is sort of $15,000. Additionally, it would outcome within the lack of TSA PreCheck® eligibility for as much as 5 years.  For extra info on transporting firearms, go to: www.tsa.gov/travel/transporting-firearms-and-ammunition.
5. Be conscious of latest checkpoint screening expertise. TSA makes use of a wide range of safety strategies and applied sciences to safe our transportation techniques. Screening protocols differ from airport to airport, relying on obtainable expertise and the present menace atmosphere. Some airports have put in new state-of-the-art Computed Tomography (CT) scanners which considerably enhance menace detection capabilities for carry-on baggage and cut back bodily searches of bag contents for prohibited objects. CT models give TSOs the power to overview 3-D pictures of passengers’ baggage, so passengers screened in safety lanes with CT models don’t must take away their 3-1-1 liquids or laptops. With CT models, all vacationers should place each carry-on merchandise, together with baggage, right into a bin for screening.
6. Travel with ease with TSA PreCheck® and guarantee you’ve gotten the TSA PreCheck mark in your boarding move. TSA’s trusted traveler program now has greater than 90 taking part airways, is out there at greater than 200 airports and has two authorized enrollment providers. Those enrolled get pleasure from the advantages of sooner checkpoint screening. The five-year membership prices simply $78. After submitting a web-based software, which takes simply 5 minutes, candidates should schedule an appointment at any of the five hundred+ enrollment facilities. After a profitable enrollment middle go to, most new enrollees will obtain their Known Traveler Number (KTN) inside three to 5 days. Members might renew their membership online as much as six months previous to expiration for an additional five-year time period for $70.
   Most TSA PreCheck members wait lower than 5 minutes on the checkpoint. Children 12 and youthful might be a part of TSA PreCheck relations within the TSA PreCheck screening lanes. Children 13-17 might be a part of enrolled adults within the devoted lanes when touring on the identical reservation and if the TSA PreCheck indicator appears on the child’s boarding pass. TSA PreCheck passengers should be certain that their KTN, together with appropriate date of beginning, is of their airline reservation. For extra details about turning into a member of the TSA PreCheck program, go to: www.TSA.gov/precheck.   
7. Call forward to request passenger help. Travelers or households of passengers who want help might name the TSA Cares helpline toll-free at 855-787-2227 at the very least 72 hours previous to journey with any questions on screening procedures and to search out out what to anticipate on the safety checkpoint. TSA Cares additionally arranges help on the checkpoint for vacationers with particular wants.
8. Text or direct message us @ AskTSA. Get your questions answered earlier than you head to the airport. Travelers can get help in actual time by texting their query to #275-872 (“AskTSA”) or by means of @AskTSA on X (previously often called Twitter) or Facebook Messenger. An automated digital assistant is out there 24/7, whereas employees is out there from 8 a.m. to six p.m. ET each day, together with holidays and weekends. Travelers may additionally attain the TSA Contact Center at 866-289-9673. Staff is out there from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to eight p.m. on weekends/holidays; and an automatic service is out there 24 hours a day, seven days every week. 
9. Remain conscious. Travelers ought to report suspicious actions, and keep in mind: If You See Something, Say Something™.
10. Show gratitude to frontline employees. Thank a TSA officer, a gate agent, a flight attendant or somebody who serves on the transportation frontlines. TSA officers full about 200 hours of coaching to develop into licensed and are dedicated to transportation safety whereas making certain all vacationers are handled with respect and courtesy. Pack an additional dose of persistence, particularly throughout larger passenger quantity journey days, and present gratitude to those that are working diligently over the vacations and every single day to get everybody to their locations safely.

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