Fresno Yosemite airport unveils new TSA tool for carry-ons. It’ll help ease growing crowds

It’s just after 10 a.m. on a Tuesday at Fresno Yosemite International Airport and the line for the security check runs several dozens of people deep. It stretches back toward the ticket counters, where there are more lines of people waiting during an increasingly busy summer travel season.

“People come in and they see that and they panic,” says Lorie Dankers, a spokesperson with the Transportation Security Administration.

“Don’t panic,” she says.

“Arrive early.”

The number of people departing from Fresno’s airport this summer is projected to exceed even its 2019 levels, which was the busiest on record, according to the TSA.

The agency used the moment Tuesday to unveil new technology that will help with security screenings.

The airport is now using a computer tomography, or CT, scanner as its primary screening for carry-on luggage. The unit generates a 3-D, X-ray image of a bag’s contents, which can be manipulated by a TSA officer to get a clearer view of what’s inside the bag. An algorithm also alerts the screener to possible dangers for further inspection. All of this is done without having to open the carry-on.

For passengers, it means you can leave everything in a carry-on during the screen, including electronics and food.

For screeners, it means fewer bag-checks.

Those bag checks can hold up the screening process, Dankers says, and passengers are asked to review the contents of their bags before going to security.

“Don’t bring any of the items here,” says Dankers, gesturing to a table full of confiscated items pulled from the airport’s checkpoint over the past few months. It’s an eclectic sampling of items — lots of pocket knives, but also larger hunting and survival knifes, even a short samurai sword. There are several lighters and a few bottles of pepper spray, and a child’s sling shot. There is also an assortment of scissors, large wrenches and even power tools.

The MyTSA app has a list of prohibited items user can find under the “Can I Bring It?” feature.

Prohibited items slow the screening process, especially during peak hours when the number of departing passengers can exceed the capacity of the security checkpoint. That’s 10 a.m. to noon, but also 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m., when several large international flights depart.

Passengers should arrive two hours before domestic flights and three hours before international flights.

They can also enroll in the TSA’s PreCheck program, which cuts down on wait times for screenings.

Nationally, the TSA has seen sustained travel growth over the last few months.

In April and May, the agency screened at least 1 million passengers nationwide each day. It has screened more than 2 million passengers several days this month, including on Sunday, when 2.176 million passengers were screened. That’s the largest number since the start of the pandemic.

At Fresno’s airport, the surge has been particularly large because of new carriers like Southwest Airlines, but also existing carriers bringing in new flights and larger planes, says Fresno Yosemite International Airport spokesperson Vikki Calderon.

Currently, the airport is operating at 120% of 2019 levels, a number that is expected to increase as the summer continues. It ranks No. 11 in the country and leads the Pacific region in air travel recovery following the pandemic. It ranks second in California in several categories, including seat capacity increases.

“We’re no longer in recovery mode,” Calderon says.

“We’re a busy airport.”