The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is launching a new airport security checkpoint configuration whereby travelers process themselves through the security area. These self-service lanes are being piloted at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. If successful, the system will be expanded to other large airports across the nation, creating a new model for airport security screening.
Self-service checkout lanes have become popular in retail outlets, as a measure to reduce touch points between people (following the COVID-19 pandemic) and as a cost savings measure. It requires fewer employees to man a bank of check-out lanes than it does to place a cashier at each such lane. The TSA is jumping onto this self-service bandwagon to take advantage of the conveniences offered by the self-service paradigm.
Yet an airport security checkpoint is not a retail check-out area. Is it really a good idea to insert an economic model into a security system?
To answer this question, note that the TSA’s mission is to “Protect the nation's transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce.” To fulfil this mission for air travel, it uses multiple layers to protect the air system from egregious acts of violence that can disrupt its operation and damage its assets. All such layers are designed to manage risk, or more specifically, buy down risk in a cost-effective and........