TSA Expanding Touchless Facial Recognition To 65 Airports

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) plans to significantly expand its Pre-Check Touchless ID program, which allows passengers to move through checkpoints using biometric facial recognition as their sole form of identification.

Touchless ID was rolled out as a pilot program in the summer of 2025. Touchless ID checkpoint lanes are now available at 15 U.S. airports. TSA said Jan. 14 the program will be expanded to 50 more airports this spring.

The five largest U.S. airlines—Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines—are participating in the program at select airports. Passengers traveling on those carriers with PreCheck membership, an “active profile” with the airline and a valid passport uploaded to the profile are eligible. Passengers must opt in to the program.

Passengers do not need to show any form of physical identification. Instead, travelers’ faces are photographed by TSA using biometric cameras. “When your face is all you need to verify your identity, there’s no fumbling with physical documents,” the agency said.

American has said TSA compares the facial image to photos that passengers "previously provided to the government, such as those in a passport, Global Entry or a visa card.”

According to TSA, “images are not used for law enforcement, surveillance, nor shared with other entities. Your photo and personal data are deleted within 24 hr. of your scheduled flight departure.”

Airports currently with Touchless ID screening lanes include Atlanta, Chicago O’Hare, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Newark, New York John F. Kennedy, New York LaGuardia, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Salt Lake City and Reagan Washington National.

A TSA PreCheck Touchless ID indicator “must appear on your mobile boarding pass to enter the dedicated TSA PreCheck Touchless ID lane,” according to the agency. Passengers still need to carry a physical ID as a backup and present it if asked by a TSA officer.

The facial recognition lanes are different from the standard process at checkpoint entrances in which TSA takes photos of faces only to verify a physical ID handed to a TSA agent.