A Golden Age of Air Travel Is Within Reach—First Shoes, Now Liquids

From long screening lines to tossing water bottles to removing belts, shoes, jackets and electronics, travelers have been forced to endure an outdated and inconvenient experience for far too long.

For years, the travel industry has been calling for a better, more modern air travel security experience that matches today’s technology, but those calls have largely gone unheard until now. Our vision for a golden age of travel, a traveler-centered experience that is fast, secure and simple, is finally starting to become a reality.

President Donald Trump and his administration have made travel modernization a top priority. This summer, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the end of the Transportation Security Administration’s “shoes-off” rule, a move that signals a broader push toward a smoother, more modern security experience. With investment in the right technology, our next priority could be just as bold: lifting the limitations on liquids in carry-on bags.

This single change would do more than remove a common source of traveler frustration. It would mark a turning point—a shift toward smarter, faster and more secure air travel powered by technology that already exists.

A report released by the U.S. Travel Association earlier this year specifically laid out a blueprint for eliminating long-standing screening rules, including the no shoes policy and the liquids ban, through nationwide deployment of next generation computed tomography scanners.

This technology, paired with artificial intelligence, can automatically clear safe bags and flag only those that pose a potential threat, dramatically increasing checkpoint throughput — potentially doubling it. Currently, millions of carry-on bags are scanned manually every day, draining time and slowing down security lines for everyone.

TSA has already piloted AI-powered automation for CT baggage scanners with promising results. Airports around the globe are beginning to implement it as well. What’s holding back wider deployment of this technology is congressional funding.

For years, Congress has underfunded airport security technology.

Worse, more than 80% of the Passenger Security Fee, which is a fee collected from travelers to fund aviation security services, is being diverted to other unrelated expenditures. This funding could be used to fully deploy CT scanners to every lane in every U.S. airport. However, at the current pace, the U.S. won’t see full deployment of this technology nationwide until 2042.

That’s unacceptable.

Reinvesting just $1 billion a year from this fee could put CT scanners in every airport lane within five years. Republican Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran’s bipartisan bill, the Spending Aviation Fees for Equipment, Guaranteeing Upgraded and Advanced Risk Detection and Safety Act is a strong start toward ensuring that revenue collected through the PSF is used for its intended purpose, strengthening aviation and airport security.

TSA could start evaluating policy changes now, such as easing liquid limits, before CT scanners are fully deployed. A first step could be lifting liquids restrictions in precheck lanes, where advanced screening and risk-based policies already offer a faster, smarter experience for trusted travelers. Noem has voiced support for this commonsense approach.

These improvements not only showcase technological innovation and promise a better travel experience, but they are also essential for the U.S. to successfully host massive upcoming events, including America’s 250th birthday and the 2026 FIFA World Cup, that will take place across 11 U.S. cities and welcome millions of visitors from around the world.

Travel is essential to America’s economic strength. We have leadership in the White House committed to modernizing travel, which is critical to maintaining global competitiveness.

Now Congress must provide the resources needed to deliver a modern air travel system that supports jobs, drives economic growth and improves our trade balance.

This opinion piece was originally authored by U.S. Travel Senior Vice President of Government Relations Erik Hansen in The Wells.