# Airport Technology and Efficiency Improvement Act of 2023

This bill gives the federal government money to help airports install smart technology systems that make traveling easier and faster. The Federal Aviation Administration will hand out grants—basically free money—to airports that want to upgrade their technology. The goal is to reduce wait times at security checkpoints, speed up check-in processes, improve parking garage navigation, and generally make the airport experience less frustrating for travelers.

The bill creates a new "smart airports" program that will give grants to at least five airports, with each airport receiving up to $2 million. The money can be used to install sensors, software systems, and Wi-Fi upgrades that help airports run more smoothly. For example, an airport could use the funding to install smart signals in security lines that show travelers how long the wait is, or sensors in parking garages that help people find open spots faster. The program will run through 2029, and Congress is authorizing up to $5 million per year to fund it.

The bill also expands what types of security technology airports can use by allowing them to install advanced sensors like LiDAR (a technology that uses light to detect objects) alongside traditional cameras. Additionally, it doubles the number of airports that can participate in a pilot program testing surveillance systems in airport runways and taxiways from five to ten airports. There's an important privacy protection built in: the bill prioritizes projects that don't collect facial recognition or biometric data from passengers unless they're identified as security threats, meaning airports won't be scanning everyone's faces just to move through the airport.

Airport Technology and Efficiency Improvement Act of 2023

Nehls, Troy E.

Airport Technology and Efficiency Improvement Act of 2023 This bill establishes and reauthorizes Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grant programs to support internet of things and security technologies in airports. (The term internet of things is often used to refer to a system of interrelated devices that are connected to a network and/or to one another and exchange data without necessarily requiring human-to-machine interaction.) The FAA must establish a new pilot program to provide grants to airports for the acquisition and installation of airport sensor systems, software, and passenger signals that facilitate the modernization of technologies and provide efficiency gains in airports (e.g., shortened security lines, Wi-Fi and Global Positioning System [GPS] upgrades, and use of smart signals in security lines). The FAA must prioritize projects that do not collect facial and biometric data of passengers who are not identified as security threats.The bill also reauthorizes an FAA grant program to acquire and install qualifying surveillance surface display systems and sensors to secure non-movement areas (the portion of the airfield surface not controlled by air traffic control). The FAA must prioritize projects that use sensors that in low-light and degraded visual conditions can categorize and distinguish between humans, animals, and other objects. Also, the bill makes light detection and ranging (commonly known as LIDAR) sensors eligible for funding as part of the Department of Transportation's airport terminal development program.