TSA Seeks Partnerships to Help Advance Security Technology 

Coast Guard Vice Commandant Peter Neffenger testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, June 10, 2015, before the Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on his nomination to head the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

TSA chief Peter Neffenger wants to team-up with airlines and airports for updated screening technologies.

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Administrator Peter Neffenger said TSA will work with airlines and airports to test new security procedures after passenger screenings slowed at airport checkpoints.

Neffenger, speaking at the Aero Club of Washington, D.C., said he spoke with major U.S. airline chief executives and hopes to partner with the industry to test new security procedures, reported Air Transport World (ATW) Wednesday.

Neffenger did not specify what changes would occur, but suggested technology upgrades.

“I would love to get us to a place that is very different from the current technology that we have,” Neffenger said as reported by ATW. He added there are “really some promising new technologies out there… not yet mature enough to deploy.”

Neffenger wants to change the TSA and the aviation industry’s “nature of engagement.”

“We all kind of have the same goal in mind at the end of the day,” Neffenger said. “If you start with that [desire to keep flights safe and secure], it’s pretty easy to find common ground. My goal is not to find ways to penalize you, it’s to find a consistent way of security across the system… [that is] truly collaborative.”

[Photo: Jacquelyn Martin]