Airport Security Phasing Out Boarding Pass Checks

Going through airport security is about to get a little easier.

New technology coming to airports nationwide will make it possible for Transportation Security Administration agents to move passengers through security without checking their boarding passes.

Known as Credential Authentication Technology, or CAT, the computer system scans a traveler’s government-issued ID to verify its authenticity. The technology then cross-references the data with the TSA’s vetting database, called Secure Flight, and confirms the passenger is listed on a flight that day.

While presenting your boarding pass at the checkpoint isn’t a lengthy process, the new authentication system improves efficiency and enhances airport security, said TSA public affairs spokesperson Lisa Farbstein.

“That’s key for us,” Farbstein said. “We want to make sure that the person standing in front of us is the person that they’re claiming to be.”

Farbstein said the TSA expects to have roughly 500 CAT systems installed at U.S. airports by the end of February. In addition to Pittsburgh International, other airport checkpoints using the technology include Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Charlotte Douglas Internatio