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Protective Services · Updated Aug 2026

Transportation Security Screeners

Conduct screening of passengers, baggage, or cargo to ensure compliance with Transportation Security Administration (TSA) regulations. May operate basic security equipment such as x-ray machines and hand wands at screening checkpoints.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
AI Exposure
55/100
Moderate

How much of this occupation’s work can be materially affected by current AI systems.

Replacement Risk
44/100
Moderate

How likely exposure is to translate into reduced human demand.

Includes provisional estimates for AI adoption pressure and labour-market resilience. How this is measured

Evidence quality
Confidence82/100
Task coverage86%

Confidence reflects task coverage, mapping and capability-evidence quality, and how much of the score rests on provisional inputs.

Task-level evidence

What is driving the score?

Occupation scores are built from the task mix—not a single prediction about a job title.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
TaskImportanceAI impactExposure
Decide whether baggage that triggers alarms should be searched or should be allowed to pass through.High
73
Check passengers' tickets to ensure that they are valid, and to determine whether passengers have designations that require special handling, such as providing photo identification.High
73
Send checked baggage through automated screening machines, and set bags aside for searching or rescreening as indicated by equipment.High
71
Perform pat-down or hand-held wand searches of passengers who have triggered machine alarms, who are unable to pass through metal detectors, or who have been randomly identified for such searches.High
53
Test baggage for any explosive materials, using equipment such as explosive detection machines or chemical swab systems.High
51
Direct passengers to areas where they can pick up their baggage after screening is complete.Medium
74
View images of checked bags and cargo, using remote screening equipment, and alert baggage screeners or handlers to any possible problems.High
43
Confiscate dangerous items and hazardous materials found in opened bags and turn them over to airlines for disposal.Medium
74
Inform passengers of how to mail prohibited items to themselves, or confiscate these items.Medium
74
Inspect carry-on items, using x-ray viewing equipment, to determine whether items contain objects that warrant further investigation.High
42
Record information about any baggage that sets off alarms in monitoring equipment.High
56
Contact leads or supervisors to discuss objects of concern that are not on prohibited object lists.Medium
74
Challenge suspicious people, requesting their badges and asking what their business is in a particular areas.High
74
Locate suspicious bags pictured in printouts sent from remote monitoring areas, and set these bags aside for inspection.High
31
Inform other screeners when baggage should not be opened because it might contain explosives.High
74
Watch for potentially dangerous persons whose pictures are posted at checkpoints.High
74
Monitor passenger flow through screening checkpoints to ensure order and efficiency.Medium
32
Contact police directly in cases of urgent security issues, using phones or two-way radios.High
74
Ask passengers to remove shoes and divest themselves of metal objects prior to walking through metal detectors.High
21
Search carry-on or checked baggage by hand when it is suspected to contain prohibited items such as weapons.High
23
Notify supervisors or other appropriate personnel when security breaches occur.High
74
Most exposed

Where AI can do more

Routine, digitized, and highly repeatable tasks face the greatest pressure.

  1. Direct passengers to areas where they can pick up their baggage after screening is complete.74
  2. Confiscate dangerous items and hazardous materials found in opened bags and turn them over to airlines for disposal.74
  3. Inform passengers of how to mail prohibited items to themselves, or confiscate these items.74
  4. Contact leads or supervisors to discuss objects of concern that are not on prohibited object lists.74
Hardest to automate

Where people still matter

These tasks score lowest on automation feasibility—physical presence, judgement, accountability and real-world variability all resist end-to-end automation.

  1. Ask passengers to remove shoes and divest themselves of metal objects prior to walking through metal detectors.01
  2. Search carry-on or checked baggage by hand when it is suspected to contain prohibited items such as weapons.02
  3. Locate suspicious bags pictured in printouts sent from remote monitoring areas, and set these bags aside for inspection.03
  4. Monitor passenger flow through screening checkpoints to ensure order and efficiency.04
  5. View images of checked bags and cargo, using remote screening equipment, and alert baggage screeners or handlers to any possible problems.05
Where else this work leads

Related occupations

Occupations O*NET links to this one. Relatedness reflects shared work, not a claim that these roles are safer.

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Beyond AI capability

Adoption and labour-market outlook

Structural factors are kept separate from raw capability so you can see what actually resists automation. Adoption pressure and labour-market resilience are still provisional models—25% of this occupation’s replacement-risk weight rests on them.

Human dependency80
Physical dependency64
Adoption pressure46
Labour-market resilience66
Methodology & sources

O*NET 30.3 occupational data interpreted through the JobsVsAI capability, automation and structural-constraint models.

Confidence82/100
CalculatedAug 21, 2026
Read methodology →