TSA looks to AI, facial recognition as airport security enters its next chapter
ORLANDO, Fla. —
25 years after the September 11 terrorist attacks transformed airport security in the United States, the Transportation Security Administration is looking toward the next generation of technology.
TSA Administrator David P. Cummins said the agency’s mission remains focused on keeping travelers safe while making the screening process smarter, faster and easier.
“Our motto is not on our watch,” Cummins told WESH 2’s Traffic Expert Meaghan Mackey, in a virtual interview. “And there hasn’t been anything that has happened on our watch this last 25 years. But as we look out to the next 25 years and beyond, we know that we have to modernize our technology because there are new and emerging threats.”
That could mean artificial intelligence playing a bigger role in the future of airport security.
Cummins said TSA is working toward technology that could eventually allow travelers to move through parts of the screening process without having to physically show an ID or a boarding pass, while advanced technology screens luggage in seconds. TSA officers would still remain involved in the process.
For travelers at Orlando International Airport, where more than 57 million passengers traveled through in 2025, the changes could help shape the experience of flying in the years ahead.
“However long the security takes to do its thing, that’s what’s required, and I just accept that,” traveler Chris Dallara said. “I don’t really think too much about it. It’s just the nature of doing business.”
Dallara said he hopes any expansion of AI includes safeguards and human oversight.
“I don’t feel like I have any expectation of privacy here, so I just hope that AI is used in a way where there’s checks and balances on it,” Dallara said. “Humans in the loop.”
Other travelers expressed caution about relying too heavily on artificial intelligence.
“Us being totally reliant on AI, it should be no,” traveler Alegra DeSouza said. “There’s certain things that could be missed, and those things also make us vulnerable for cyberattacks and things of that nature.”
Another traveler, Douglas Beckering, said he is still waiting to see how the technology develops.
“I don’t have an opinion on AI yet because I’ll say it’s just within its infancy,” Beckering said.
Some of the technology shaping the future of air travel is already in use at MCO.
Terminal C uses facial recognition technology for certain international arrivals and departures, offering a glimpse of how biometric technology could become more common throughout the travel experience.
Could non-travelers soon go through TSA without a flight?
TSA also recently announced a new program called Gateside by TSA PreCheck, allowing certain trusted travelers without a boarding pass to apply for access beyond airport security at participating airports.
The program allows approved visitors to go through security to accompany a loved one to a gate, greet someone arriving, meet a traveler during a layover or enjoy post-security airport amenities. People must apply in advance and still go through security screening. The initial rollout includes 13 airports, but Orlando International Airport is not currently part of the Gateside program.
However, MCO already has its own option for non-ticketed visitors.
Through the Experience MCO Visitor Pass Program, approved guests can apply to go through TSA screening and access post-security areas without a flight. Visitors can shop, dine, spend time with traveling loved ones or explore the airport. The program is currently available across MCO’s terminals, although access is limited, requires TSA approval, and visitors must follow the same security rules as passengers. Experience MCO visitors currently use standard screening and cannot use TSA PreCheck or other expedited screening programs.
For now, the Gateside program and MCO’s Experience MCO program remain separate. But both reflect a changing approach to airport access.
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