TSA Self-Checkout Is Coming, But Will It Really Make Air Travel Suck Less?

TSA started testing a new “self-checkout” lane in Las Vegas on Wednesday for pre-checked flyers. Network TV morning shows billed it as the future of airport security. But anyone who’s been frustrated with the robot cashiers at supermarkets and big box retailers will likely be asking themselves a simple question: Why?

The new TSA self-checkout lane looks a lot like the existing security you’re probably familiar with at U.S. airports. There are bins for your belongings that run along a conveyor belt and backscatter X-ray machines to scan your body. The innovation with these new self-checkout lanes appears to be the absence of large numbers of TSA agents who typically explain things.