TSA unveils facial recognition technology at Buffalo airport to prevent travelers from using fake IDs

Like the equipment it is replacing, the Credential Authentication Technology, referred to as CAT-2, scans travelers’ photo identification and confirms their identity and flight status, but it is also equipped with a camera that can capture a real-time photo of the traveler. 

“This latest technology helps ensure that we know who is boarding flights,” said Bart R. Johnson, the federal security director for TSA in upstate New York. 

At the TSA checkpoint, CAT-2 units have cameras on tablets that take a photo of the traveler. The technology then compares the photo on the traveler’s identification document – either a driver’s license or passport – with their real-time photo. The touchless unit enables passengers to insert their ID into a slot for verification to speed up the process.

CAT-2 units have a “library” of IDs programmed into them that allow the technology to authenticate more than 2,500 different types of IDs, including passports, military common access cards, Department of Homeland Security Trusted Traveler ID cards, uniformed services ID cards, permanent resident cards, U.S. visas and driver’s licenses and photo IDs issued by state motor vehicle departments.

During the summer, the Buffalo airport sees an uptick in passengers, with an average of 7,000 to 7,500 passengers daily, said Lisa Farbstein, a TSA spokesperson. On May 24, the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, a record number of passengers were screened by TSA at airports nationwide, with 2.95 million people, the highest in TSA’s 22-year history, Farbstein added.

“We expect that to even increase at some point during summer,” she said. “It takes about the same amount of time to use this new technology as otherwise, somewhere in the neighborhood of three to five seconds to clear somebody. We’re really looking for fraudulent IDs.” 

Once the equipment matches the photos, the TSA officer proceeds with verification and the traveler is allowed to go through the checkpoint without having to produce a boarding pass. The real-time photo is then deleted.

The technology also helps detect any possible inconsistencies related to passengers, including birth dates, expiration dates and biometrics. If agents encounter a fraudulent ID, they will seek help from law enforcement officers to verify the identity of the person carrying the document.  

Travelers may opt out of getting their photos taken and request an alternative identity verification process. The screen of the tablet shows that the camera is turned off while the officer still scans the traveler’s ID for flight status, name and date of birth verification. Agents then check the identity of the traveler with the photo on the identification document. 

Before the TSA screening, travelers are still required to check in with their airline in advance and to produce their boarding pass at their designated gate to board a flight. 

The CAT technology has its critics, as reported by the Associated Press, since many people are apprehensive about bias in facial recognition technology and there are possible repercussions for passengers who do not want to have their photos taken. 

In February 2023, five U.S. senators – four Democrats and one Independent – urged the agency to put an end to the program in fear of exacerbating racial discrimination via a letter. 

The AP reported that the TSA denied any discrimination on the basis of age, gender, race and ethnicity.

A 2023 report by the TSA stated that the agency had screened over 858 million passengers, and deployed more than 2,000 CAT and CAT-2 machines nationwide.