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Why You No Longer Have To Show TSA Your Boarding Pass

SharonKurheg
a man and woman standing in front of a computer

If you flew in the years before Covid (and if you’re reading this, I assume you have), you surely remember the drill: when you got up to the officer at the TSA checkpoint, you had to show your ID and your boarding pass. The officer would look at both, cross-referencing the names on each (that’s part of the reason why the name on your boarding pass had to match your ID), and comparing the photo on your driver’s license, passport, etc., to your face. They’d make some sort of mark on your boarding pass – a circle here, a squiggle there – and if they were sure you were who you said you were, and that you had a flight to catch that day, you’d be on your merry way to the secure area of the airport.

Times have changed since Covid and, more and more often, when you go up to the TSA security checkpoint nowadays, you don’t have to show your boarding pass; just your ID.

Why?

Cross-referencing your ID and boarding pass was slow and had the potential for human error. To combat both, TSA is investing in what they call Credential Authentication Technology (CAT). They say it’s a “security game changer,” since it simplifies the entire process.

All you need to do now is present your photo ID or passport for the TSA officer to scan. CAT is linked to the Secure Flight database which, in turn, confirms a traveler’s flight information within a 24-hour period to ensure that the traveler is ticketed to travel that day. No boarding pass is required, since the Secure Flight database already has that information in its system.

In the event someone’s offering a fake ID, or if there’s some other issue with the traveler, a high-pitched noise alerts the officer.

Since it’s all electronic, the vetting just takes a few seconds. The old way only took a few seconds too, but it was a few more seconds than how long it takes using CAT system. Those few seconds add up over however many people are in front of you in line (especially if you’re not using the TSA PreCheck line), which can potentially save you minutes.

Acceptable forms of ID

CAT can scan the following types of identification for flyers age 18+:

Airports offering CAT units

There are roughly 500 public airports that offer commercial flights. To date, these are the ones that have become equipped with CAT technology:

The list is constantly getting additions. Happy flying!

Feature Image: TSA

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