Tampa International (TPA) has added a second bank of four egates that will help the airport manage passengers heading to each airside.
The egates allow ticketed passengers and cleared guests to gain access to the airside shuttle, replacing the current system that requires manual scanning.
Passengers simply scan their boarding pass and the gates swing open. If they are at the wrong gate, they will receive an error message.
The new egates help TPA to speed up the process of going airside, making it faster for passengers to get to their gate.
The airport first introduced egates at the shuttle entrance to Airside A in mid-July and at Airside C in early August. More egates at planned for Airside E and F this November.
So far, the Airside A gates have processed about 85,000 passengers and employees while the Airside C gates have handled 40,000.
Aside from facilitating social distancing, the E-gates enhance security and give the airport additional insights about the travel experience through TPA and how to make it more efficient. The screening can help identify peak usage time, for example, allowing the airport to ramp up staff appropriately.
TSA at Tampa International Airport Is using new credential authentication technology to improve the checkpoint screening experience
Earlier this month the TSA introduced new credential authentication technology at TPA both to improve checkpoint screening capabilities and the passenger experience.
Nine credential authentication technology (CAT) units are in use, at least one at each airside.
The state-of-the-art technology improves upon TSA’s real time detection of fraudulent identification documents such as driver’s licenses and passports at checkpoints and increases efficiency by automatically verifying passenger identification.
In addition to enhancing detection capabilities for identifying fraudulent IDs, the credential system is able to confirm a passenger’s flight status.
N.B. Image credit: Tampa International Airport
