Read it again. Ticketed passengers only are allowed in the secured area. However, unlike many other airports, a boarding pass may be obtained AFTER entering the secured area. David R > I thought the TSA mandates that only tickets pax can pass thru security. How can > they pass without in LAS as the article says? > > > > > Las Vegas airport tries souped-up check-in kiosks > By Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY > The Las Vegas airport is set to unveil a new type of self-service kiosk that > some industry insiders say will do for airport lines what ATMs did for the bank > teller queues — shorten them. > The machines making their debut next month will be the first at any airport in > the world to issue passenger boarding passes for multiple airlines, industry > officials say. Many airlines now use similar kiosks, but they're only equipped > to handle that airline's customers. (More stories: Travel front page) > > Las Vegas' SpeedCheck machines initially will be accessible to America West, > Continental and Delta passengers. Up to a dozen airlines could be online by > summer's end, including Southwest, the airport's largest carrier. Eventually, > McCarran International will have as many as 42 kiosks accessible to passengers > on all 28 airlines there, officials say. > > Other airports are expected to roll out similar kiosks, says Colin Temple, > manager of airport services for the International Air Transport Association > (IATA), the global airline trade group. > > IATA is helping to develop a standard operating platform for the common-use > kiosks, which Temple says will let other airports easily adopt the system. > > But for Las Vegas, SpeedCheck's advantages hit closer to home. > > The Transportation Security Administration will soon require Las Vegas travelers > to obtain their boarding passes before passing through security, a mandate > already in place at many airports. > > That threatens to put a huge strain on McCarran, which has one of the highest > volumes of travelers flying directly to or from the airport because of Las > Vegas' popularity as a day-trip destination. > > Requiring all of those passengers to have boarding passes in hand would likely > create huge lines at both ticket counters and individual airline kiosks. That's > a problem airport officials hope the multi-airline kiosks can help them avoid. > > SpeedCheck kiosks will be installed in traditional check-in areas and clustered > at locations throughout the airport — such as the parking garage — > which will eliminate bottlenecks and increase the check-in capacity of the > airport. > > Even the city's convention center is expected to get SpeedCheck kiosks, allowing > business travelers to have their boarding passes in hand even before hailing a > cab to the airport. > > Unlike the airline-owned kiosks, the SpeedCheck system will be set up and > maintained almost exclusively by McCarran airport. That helps minimize costs for > airlines already struggling financially. > > Even with the maintenance costs, the kiosks could save the airport tens of > millions of dollars by avoiding the need to expand ticketing areas, says > McCarran official Samuel Ingalls, who's been working on the project. > > "Those savings extend to the airlines as well because, in the process, we're > lowering their cost of doing business here," he says. > > > Roger > EWROPS