TSA plans new security technology for Logan, timing unclear

New facial comparison technology could eventually allow travelers at Logan to pass through security without showing a driver’s license or boarding pass.

TSA Administrator David Cummins, who was sworn in as the agency’s eighth administrator last month, told CBS Boston on Tuesday that Logan will see new security technology as part of the agency’s “Horizon 25 Strategy.”

“You’re going to have E-gates with facial comparison technology where you can keep your driver’s license and your boarding pass in your pocket and just walk on through the E-gate and then put your bag on a 3D scanner. That is going to digitally unpack the bag,” Cummins told CBS.

Travelers without PreCheck could also see changes. Cummins said standard lanes will also get walk-through body scanners that let passengers pass through without stopping to raise their hands.

Cummins also touted a second, unrelated change: a pilot program that allows people without a boarding pass escort travelers to the gate or meet arriving passengers — a practice barred at most airports since shortly after the September 11 attacks.

“If you have, let’s say, a teenage son that’s flying in, that you can go and greet them as they’re getting off the plane. This is something that the public has asked for, for many years,” Cummins told CBS Boston.

Depending on an airline’s policy, parents and guardians can usually obtain a gate pass to accompany a minor to the departure gate or meet them upon arrival. They also must still go through standard security screening.

TSA has not given a firm timeline for when the new e-gates and other security technology described by Cummins will reach Logan.

A TSA spokesperson told Boston.com that Logan currently has CLEAR eGates, but said they were not aware of the deployment schedule for TSA eGates and would look into it. The spokesperson also said the ability for travelers to scan themselves into a security checkpoint “could possibly come into play in the future,” but “we’re not there yet.”

For now, the spokesperson said Logan has TSA PreCheck Touchless, which allows eligible PreCheck travelers to use facial comparison technology to verify their identity. Massport referred Boston.com to TSA for questions about the new technology.

Annie Jonas is a Community writer at Boston.com. She was previously a local editor at Patch and a freelancer at the Financial Times.