Answer any TSA questions you may have for Thanksgiving travel

The TSA has made many changes to its operations since the pandemic began, and here’s a handy guide to answering all of those questions.

That’s not the TSA at SFO

Here’s a fun fact that no one hears: At San Francisco International Airport, the people who screen you and your luggage at the security lines aren’t technically the TSA. Blue-shirted officers at the SFO bear the abbreviation “CAS” on their shoulders as opposed to “TSA”.

The Transportation Security Administration manages the checkpoint staff and they follow all the rules instructed by the TSA, but these people are actually hired by Covenant Aviation Security.

CAS has a contract with the SFO to provide ID checkers and bag handlers. CAS has consistently won contracts to work with the SFO since the TSA’s formation in 2001 following the September 11 attacks. Other airports around the country include Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport contracts with third-party providers instead of working directly with TSA.

When the Department of Homeland Security began screening at airports following 9/11, there was a provision that allowed contract screeners, such as CAS, to perform duties with TSA’s oversight. Some airports have tested this – such as SFO – and have decided to put the system in place.

Treaty aviation security staff are recruited and trained in the same way as TSA, and they share the same oversight. The biggest difference is that CAS’s employees are not paid by TSA. Their shoulder stripes say “CAS”.

Why not show your boarding pass with ID

The TSA is calling its new credential authentication technology (CAT) a “security game changer.”

The machine is an ID authenticator that eliminates the need to provide boarding passes and identification cards to the TSA before processing your luggage.

Before the pandemic, these TSA officers had to cross-reference names and information between boarding passes and IDs, which could lead to errors. Over the past two years, the TSA has developed its technology, and the CAT machine simplifies the entire process.

All you need to do now is submit your photo ID or passport for the officer to scan. CAT is linked to the Secure Flight database, which verifies a passenger’s flight information within 24-hours of the day the ticket is booked for travel.

The test takes a few seconds. A loud beeping sound will alert the officer if a fake ID or passenger is in trouble.

When to keep electronics and liquids inside the bag

Another technology upgrade the TSA has implemented is computed tomography (CT) used to scan baggage.

Historically, machines created a 2-D X-ray image of the contents of a carry-on bag. These machines are still active, but the TSA has begun rolling out 300 Smiths detection machines — which look like large Apple iPhone wall chargers — that can take 3-D X-ray images. Both SFO and Oakland International Airport use the technology.

New computed tomography machines allow TSA officers to create a 3-D image of luggage and contents. This allows them to manipulate the image and improve the readability of the content. In essence, 2-D machines provide visibility, whereas 3-D machines provide enhanced visibility.

“It’s not about speed, but what they can see,” said Lori Tankers, a spokeswoman for the TSA.

The most exciting feature of these new machines is that once a carry-on bag is screened by the CT scanner, passengers are allowed to leave everything in their carry-on bag. That means electronics larger than a cell phone and travel-size liquids should be carried instead of in your bag.

Smiths detection machines are connected to automated screening lanes that streamline the process of placing your bags on the belt for scanning. TSA’s roles are slowly being automated.

As seen in European airports like Amsterdam, these lanes eliminate the need for a TSA officer to return bins after they’ve gone to the other side. The machine is self-contained and automatically returns them to new passengers.

Passengers walk up to one of six separate areas with large white bins to hold all their belongings. Bags and baggage cannot roll on the conveyor belt and must be contained within a bin. The bins are tagged so that if a TSA officer finds anything, another officer can easily pull the bin and locate the precise part of the bag that triggered the alert.

Short staffing means long delays

The TSA echoes a sentiment heard from businesses across the country: Hiring new workers is a challenge.

“People don’t want to work,” said Kevin Sprouse, assistant federal security director of screening for the TSA. “We’re struggling a bit to meet operational requirements.”

Nationally, TSA is actively recruiting new employees. Tankers said they have raised wages by $1,000 to $5,000 to lure new workers. Denver International Airport is having a hard time finding workers, and that salary increase equates to making $55,000 a year.

On Thursday night, a week before Thanksgiving at Oakland International Airport, the security line moved at a snail’s pace as a TSA officer learned the ropes of scanning luggage. One bag at a time.

Curiously, the intern learned how to operate 2-D computed tomography, which will one day become obsolete as 3-D technology continues to emerge.

Disgruntled passengers lamented the wait at OAK, and another TSA official explained to SFGATE that he believed the issue was caused by a lack of filled administrative positions.

Don’t touch bomb sniffing dogs

Mala Dog finds evidence of explosives every day while working at SFO — rarely from bad actors.

The Hound is the first line of defense at the airport, and to keep her muzzle sharp, her handlers plant a portion of the explosives on themselves for her to find.

When Mala finds objects, she is trained not to retaliate or jump with the person, but instead to deliberately follow them so her handler knows to pull the person aside without making a scene.

The TSA says the routine is largely flawless, and the average passenger never realizes a bomb threat is neutralizing it in front of them.

After successfully locating the wreckage, Mala chews a lime green tennis ball as her treat. She was rewarded with affection — which is why the TSA asks passengers to refrain from petting dogs so as not to distract them or confuse their reward system.

The TSA’s canine division has 350 dogs that are often sent from airports to major events like the Super Bowl or San Francisco’s Pride Parade. Whenever an airport anticipates an increase in passengers, the TSA sends out canine reinforcements. Three dogs were sent to SFO ahead of this year’s Thanksgiving rush.