Screening at Small Airports

TSA Will Not Stop Screening Passengers at Small Airports After All

Bryan Thomas/Getty Images

ANDREA ROMANO 

Don’t expect the Transportation Security Administration to be going anywhere anytime soon, travelers. Even if you are flying out of a tiny airport.


CBS News reported that the TSA has no plans to drop security screenings at 150 small airports across the country, as an exclusive CNN report claimed earlier this month. TSA sources told CBS the report was based on “worst-case scenarios” for the 2020 budget.

“We’re not doing that. Real simple," TSA chief David Pekoske told USA Today. “We looked at that and decided that was not an issue worth pursuing. Off the table.”

Airports will continue to screen passengers as usual, with some potential modifications coming in the near future. Separate lines for passengers who have been sniffed by bomb-sniffing dogs have been proposed as well as expanding the use of new, 3D scanners, which could speed up the security process.

These 3D scanners would allow passengers to keep their shoes on as well as their liquids and electronics in their bags. Size restrictions on liquids, however, will still apply. Passengers who have been screened by dogs will also get an expedited screening process since they are deemed “lower risk” after being sniffed, according to Pekoske.

The first phases of the plan are tentatively scheduled to go into effect this fall or early next year.