New BNA security machines come with new screening requirements

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Nashville International Airport unveiled its new Computed Tomography (CT) scanning machines on Tuesday along with the new Grand Lobby that opened to passengers.

The new machines aren’t all that’s new about the scanners that check your carry-on items. There are new details passengers need to know before they get into those security lanes.

TSA officials said the new scanning machines give a 360-degree image of passengers’ carry-on items. They said think of the new machines working like a CAT-scan used at hospitals.

That 360 feature means when travelers put their bags through, they don’t have to take things like their laptop or liquids out.

“I think that’s amazing. It’s going to make the lines more efficient,” Brandy Rusin, who frequently flies out of BNA, said.

“I like that a lot. In fact, we left DFW (Dallas-Fort Worth) to come here. You could just put everything. I was taking all my stuff out,” David Henry said.

Another detail about the new machines is TSA officials said the entrance tunnel into the new scanners is smaller. They said the measurement of that entry way is 24.5 inches wide and 16.5 inches high. It’s smaller than the old machines.

“I might have to get reorganized,” Rusin said.

TSA officials said that means oversized bags that don’t meet current airline carry-on bag measurements won’t be allowed because they won’t fit through the new machines.

“We need a warning. I travel a lot for my job, and I had no idea that was a thing,” Rusin said.

The new requirement for larger bags has a little more impact on Music City. With the new machines, everything has to go in a bin. That makes a difference for passengers with music instruments like guitars.

“That might be a little tough for us,” Evan Lee, a Nashville musician who just flew back into Nashville on Tuesday.

Those larger musical instruments would have to be hand-screened if they don’t fit in the bin, according to TSA officials.

“I feel like it’s going to take a lot longer to get through security, especially for somebody who is trying to travel as fast as possible to get to another destination,” Lee said.

TSA officials said all bags and personal items must fit in the provided bins. Loose items can’t be placed on the feeder belt.

Other larger items that could be hand-scanned for not fitting in a bin are things like car seats and strollers.

TSA officials said the reason why everything has to go in a bin is because if something gets stuck, they would have to close the lane because it’s not easy getting things out of this particular machine.

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