Why bother with a boarding pass when you’ve got your fingerprint?

Starting Wednesday, the Transportation Security Administration will test new biometric technology that substitutes fingerprints for boarding passes and IDs at Denver International Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The technology, which is being tested among travelers enrolled in TSA PreCheck, matches passengers’ identities to fingerprints already on file when people applied to the fast-pass lane program. PreCheck travelers are able to pass through security with shoes and belts on, and liquids and laptops still in their carry-on bags.

We hope you’re as excited as #ThisGuy about innovative screening technology!  He’s one of the technicians setting up the biometric authentication technology (BAT). Besides having a super cool acronym, the technology matches passenger fingerprints to those that have previously been provided when travelers enrolled in #TSAPrecheck. This pilot program is voluntary and all participating passengers will also be subject to the standard ticket document checking process of showing their boarding pass and ID. Bummer, we know… But in the long term, this technology has the potential to eliminate the need for a boarding pass and ID altogether. The pilot starts this week and will take place at one TSA Pre✓® lane at the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport #ATL and another at the Denver International Airport #DEN starting this week. TSA will analyze the data collected during the pilot for potential implementation at other U.S. airports in the future.

A post shared by TSA (@tsa) on Jun 13, 2017 at 11:03am PDT

The technology could someday automate the check-in process, TSA said. The technology obtains a passenger’s flight information through Secure Flight, TSA’s prescreening program that identifies low- and high-risk passengers before they arrive at the airport. Secure Flight collects a traveler’s name, date of birth and gender and checks the information against the no-fly list and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s do-not-board list.

Read full story at The Denver Post.

Denver International Airport. Photo via Twitter.