Conduct screening of passengers, baggage, or cargo to ensure compliance with Transportation Security Administration (TSA) regulations. May operate basic security equipment such as x-ray machines and hand wands at screening checkpoints.
U.S. Workers
46,340
Median Salary
$63,360
10-Year Growth
-6.0%
Annual Openings
4,700
Typical entry: High school diploma or equivalent
23 of 26 tasks have some AI capability
Exposure Trend
This score reflects estimated AI technical capability for tasks in this occupation. It does not predict employment changes, and it does not account for company-specific constraints, regulation, or adoption barriers.
View images of checked bags and cargo, using remote screening equipment, and alert baggage screeners or handlers to any possible problems.
AI: Fully automatable - Automated X‑ray and image-analysis systems can remotely view checked-baggage and cargo images and alert screeners or handlers to suspected problems.
Check passengers' tickets to ensure that they are valid, and to determine whether passengers have designations that require special handling, such as providing photo identification.
AI: Fully automatable - Automated systems can read tickets, check databases, and flag special handling/designations (including ID verification via biometrics), so AI can fully perform this task technically.
Test baggage for any explosive materials, using equipment such as explosive detection machines or chemical swab systems.
AI: Fully automatable - Explosive-detection machines already automate sensor analysis and AI can interpret chemical/swab and instrument signals to identify explosives, enabling full automation of testing.
Notify supervisors or other appropriate personnel when security breaches occur.
AI: Fully automatable - Automated monitoring and alarm systems can detect breaches and send notifications to supervisors without human intervention.
Send checked baggage through automated screening machines, and set bags aside for searching or rescreening as indicated by equipment.
AI: Fully automatable - Automated baggage handling and screening systems already route luggage and segregate items flagged for secondary inspection.
Inform other screeners when baggage should not be opened because it might contain explosives.
AI: Fully automatable - Screening systems and threat-detection algorithms can flag explosive indicators and automatically inform other personnel to avoid opening suspect bags.
Ask passengers to remove shoes and divest themselves of metal objects prior to walking through metal detectors.
AI: Fully automatable - Automated announcements, kiosks, or robotic agents can instruct passengers to remove shoes and metal items, accomplishing the 'asking' task.
Record information about any baggage that sets off alarms in monitoring equipment.
AI: Fully automatable - Automated systems can reliably log alarm events and associated baggage metadata from monitoring equipment.
Monitor passenger flow through screening checkpoints to ensure order and efficiency.
AI: Fully automatable - Computer vision and analytics can monitor passenger flow in real time and recommend or implement measures to maintain order and efficiency.
Provide directions and respond to passenger inquiries.
AI: Fully automatable - Conversational AI, kiosks, and voice assistants can reliably answer common passenger inquiries and provide directions.
Direct passengers to areas where they can pick up their baggage after screening is complete.
AI: Fully automatable - AI systems can direct passengers to baggage pickup areas using facility maps, location data, and wayfinding interfaces.
Inspect carry-on items, using x-ray viewing equipment, to determine whether items contain objects that warrant further investigation.
AI: Partial - Computer-vision AI can flag suspicious items in x-ray images with high accuracy, but ambiguous or novel threats and regulatory standards still require human oversight.
Decide whether baggage that triggers alarms should be searched or should be allowed to pass through.
AI: Partial - AI can classify alarmed bags and recommend actions, but final search/clearance decisions typically require human judgment and legal accountability.
Locate suspicious bags pictured in printouts sent from remote monitoring areas, and set these bags aside for inspection.
AI: Partial - AI in 2025 can detect suspicious bags in images reliably but cannot perform the physical action of setting aside physical bags on-site without integrated robotics/human action.
Follow those who breach security until police or other security personnel arrive to apprehend them.
AI: Partial - AI can track and monitor breach suspects via cameras and alert responders but cannot reliably physically pursue individuals or perform sensitive interception tasks.
Inspect checked baggage for signs of tampering.
AI: Partial - Computer-vision and x-ray analysis can flag tampering indicators, but comprehensive inspection often requires human physical examination and contextual judgment.
Close entry areas following security breaches or reopen areas after receiving notification that the airport is secure.
AI: Partial - Access-control systems can automatically lock doors, but decisions to close or reopen areas after breaches usually require human authorization and situational judgment.
Challenge suspicious people, requesting their badges and asking what their business is in a particular areas.
AI: Partial - AI can detect suspicious behavior and prompt badge checks or scripted queries, but confronting people and assessing responses remains a sensitive human task.
Patrol work areas to detect any suspicious items.
AI: Partial - Autonomous cameras and patrol robots can detect suspicious items, but full-area patrol and nuanced threat recognition still rely on human oversight.
Contact police directly in cases of urgent security issues, using phones or two-way radios.
AI: Partial - AI can automatically place alerts or initiate calls/messages, but legal, reliability, and judgment requirements typically require human involvement for directly contacting police.
Watch for potentially dangerous persons whose pictures are posted at checkpoints.
AI: Partial - Face-recognition and matching systems can flag posted images but error rates, bias concerns, and operational policy generally require human verification.
Contact leads or supervisors to discuss objects of concern that are not on prohibited object lists.
AI: Partial - AI can detect unusual objects and notify leads or supervisors with summaries, but cannot fully replace human discussion and decision-making about ambiguous items.
Inform passengers of how to mail prohibited items to themselves, or confiscate these items.
AI: Partial - AI can provide instructions for mailing prohibited items and generate policies, but it cannot perform the physical confiscation and final disposition.
Search carry-on or checked baggage by hand when it is suspected to contain prohibited items such as weapons.
AI: Not automatable - AI cannot yet replicate the fine manual dexterity, legal protocols, and situational judgment required for hands-on searches of baggage.
Perform pat-down or hand-held wand searches of passengers who have triggered machine alarms, who are unable to pass through metal detectors, or who have been randomly identified for such searches.
AI: Not automatable - Pat-downs and wand searches require physical contact, nuanced judgment, and legal/ethical considerations that AI/robots cannot perform autonomously as of 2025.
Confiscate dangerous items and hazardous materials found in opened bags and turn them over to airlines for disposal.
AI: Not automatable - Confiscating and transferring hazardous items requires physical handling, chain-of-custody, and regulatory oversight that AI cannot perform.