TSA announces new security measures at Sacramento International Airport checkpoints

Passengers at Sacramento International Airport are no longer required to show their boarding pass at the federal Transportation Security Administration federal checkpoint, federal officials announced on Thursday.

Instead, checkpoint agents are employing new technology that can scan a flier’s driver license or other identification and electronically verify if that person is on a list of ticketed passengers for flights out of the Sacramento airport on that day.

The new identification verification system, called Credential Authentication Technology, is being introduced this month at airports nationally. The technology connects to the TSA’s Secure Flight database, which identifies people who are on the federal government’s “no fly” list.

TSA officials say the new procedures should speed passenger passage through the security checkpoint and increase security. “Any time we can use technology to supplement the human effort, it is an additional level of security,” Lorie Dankers of TSA said.

Until now, passengers have been required to show TSA both an identification card and their airline boarding pass before being allowed to pass through the screening machines.

Officials said not all airport checkpoints, however, will have the new technology in the coming months. The Sacramento airport has six of the units. The devices are portable and will be moved among checkpoints, as needed, TSA officials said. That means some passengers will still have to show their boarding passes to TSA agents, depending on what line they are in. Local TSA officials have requested more of the devices.

Fliers also will still need to present their boarding pass at the airline gate – either a paper or electronic copy – to be allowed on the flight.

Federal officials also warned fliers that when they buy their plane tickets, they should make sure the name on their boarding pass is identical to the name on their driver license or other ID. Otherwise, federal agents are likely to send passengers back to the airline counter to change their ticketing name so that it matches their ID.

The new technology represents the first of two major changes slated this year at federal airport checkpoints.

Starting Oct. 1, fliers will not be allowed to use the traditional California license as identification. Instead, they must have the new REAL ID driver license that California has been issuing since last year.

After Oct. 1, fliers who have not yet obtained a California REAL ID Driver License will be required to use their passport or one of a few other federal-government approved identification cards.

This story was originally published March 1, 2020 at 5:00 AM.