Automation Is Considered for Checking IDs in Airports

The Transportation Security Administration has spent a lot of money on technology to keep dangerous items off planes — with mixed results — but has been slower to address another risk: travelers who are using a fake boarding pass or identification. Despite announcing plans last fall to test machines that can electronically verify passengers’ documents, the agency still relies on its agents to visually inspect boarding passes and IDs, and confirm that each traveler matches the photo on a driver’s license or passport. At a busy airport, one employee...