Air travel has become agony for many travelers: enduring endless lines, arguing about luggage with harried airline employees, running for flights because of security delays. The list goes on.
During the recent U.S. government shutdowns, lines often extended around and outside terminals, in scenes that still haunt travelers.
But overwhelmed U.S. airports and airlines are working to ease some of the worst pinch points: passenger and luggage screening. New, albeit limited, programs are using tools like biometric technology and remote check-in facilities to get passengers, and their bags, to their destinations more efficiently.
“What we’ve had for a long time is very traditional and labor intensive,” said Laura Albert, an engineering professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison whose research has included risk-based security. “We are overdue for some innovation and experimentation.”