Paperless Boarding Pass Pilot

The electronic boarding pass pilot enables passengers to download their boarding pass on their cell phones or personal digital assistants (PDAs). This innovative approach streamlines the customer experience while heightening the ability to detect fraudulent boarding passes. Each paperless boarding pass is displayed as an encrypted two-dimensional bar code along with passenger and flight information. TSA security officers use hand-held scanners to validate the authenticity of the boarding pass at the checkpoint.

Ten airports are piloting this technology: Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), Logan International Airport (BOS), Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS), San Antonio International Airport (SAT), Indianapolis International Airport (IND) and LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in New York, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), and Cleveland Hopkins Airport (CLE).

Once the hand-held scanners are deployed nationwide, TSA will also use this technology to track wait times using standardized automated data collected at checkpoints. This development is expected to happen within about a year.