New Orleans travelers will have some fancy new tech to check out soon at Louis Armstrong International. The TSA is in the midst of installing new machines that will allow passengers to board quicker and deal with less hassle ahead of the holidays and upcoming Super Bowl. Work began a few months ago with an eye on finishing the project ahead of the city’s much anticipated hosting of Super Bowl LIX. When the work is completed, there will be 17 TSA lanes instead of the current 15 that are currently in MSY. Eleven of the machines will have the new and upgraded equipment to help passengers board more swiftly.
Sari Koshetz, Spokesperson for the TSA, says that five of them have already been installed at Louis Armstrong International and currently in use. Another six will be put into place between now and December, Koshetz adds. This will allow all eleven of the machines to be fully up and running before the Christmas holidays and the city’s hosting of the Super Bowl. For those unfamiliar with the process, additional TSA officers are on site to assist travelers through the new processes. She also points out that additional machines will be added to keep lanes running, but people will need to be aware of which lane they’re in at the security checkpoints. The new machines are quite large and easy to spot, Koshetz adds and lanes with new machines will allow travelers to keep liquids, gels, aerosols and computers in their bag. What Has changed is full-sized carry-on bags must be placed in a bin and nothing goes on the actual rollers.
The equipment being installed at MSY will allow 4 people to prepare for screening simultaneously and leave everything in their bags. This should expedite the onboarding process tremendously going forward, and will allow the city to more smoothly host big events in the future. When the work is completed, passengers will put their carry-on bag inside new and larger bins that will then be placed on a conveyor belt. The new scanners will take a 3D image of the contents of each bag and TSA officers can then rotate the images to view and screen the contents without having to physically open the bags. The speedier and less intrusive process may take some time to get used to after spending years going through the motions at the airport, but ultimately, travelers should enjoy the newfound freedom at the airport.
Koshetz suggests fliers sign up for TSA Precheck as soon as possible to become a part of that program before Thanksgiving. This will speed up your holiday travel plans. For those seeking clarification on the new processes and which items are allowed in carry-on bags, you can download the free myTSA app (which has a handy “What can I bring?” feature that allows you to type in the name of the item to find out if it can fly carry-on, checked bags, or neither) or ask via Twitter or Facebook Messenger at @AskTSA. Sari’s X account regularly tweets out information regarding TSA regulations for travel as well.
Travelers have the option of getting answers to any questions they may have by texting “Travel” to AskTSA (275-872). The TSA is specifically reminding people to make sure they have a REAL ID or other acceptable form of ID, and encourages those without the REAL ID to put it on their summer “to-do” list. Residents of the state will need a REAL ID by May 7, 2025 to board domestic flights.