Air travellers may soon face changes at security lines as a new Senate bill takes aim at TSA’s use of facial recognition technology. But the nation’s biggest airlines aren’t on board. Warning of longer wait times and disrupted operations, travel companies and airports urged the Senate to reject the bill that promises to give passengers more control over how they’re screened.

The bill, set for committee consideration on Wednesday, is designated to protect travellers’ privacy by allowing them to opt out of facial recognition screenings. It also seeks to prevent misuse of biometric data collected by the TSA.

Supporters of the bill — including Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley and Republican Senator John Kennedy — argue that the TSA currently subjects many law-abiding passengers to invasive facial recognition without clearly informing them of their right to decline.

Kennedy said in May, “The TSA subjects countless law-abiding Americans to excessive facial recognition screenings as they travel, invading passengers’ privacy without even making it clear that they can opt out of the screening.”

“Folks don’t want a national surveillance state, but that’s exactly what the TSA’s unchecked expansion of facial recognition technology is leading us to,” Merkley added.

TSA’S PUSH FACES PRIVACY ROADBLOCK

The bill would require TSA to offer passengers an alternative identity verification method that does not involve facial recognition. It also mandates that travelers who decline facial scans must not face discriminatory treatment or additional delays.

However, Airlines for America — a trade group representing carriers like American Airlines, Delta, United, and Southwest — warned that the bill’s restrictions would harm airport efficiency and national security.

“Restricting TSA’s use of biometrics is a step backward for our national security,” the airlines wrote in their letter. They stressed that removing facial recognition would force TSA to rely heavily on manual identity checks, tying up about 75% of TSA’s budget on staffing rather than investing in technology.

This, they said, would hinder important innovations such as automated e-gates and TSA PreCheck Touchless ID programs.

The groups cautioned that limiting facial recognition could create “an overwhelming and chaotic environment at every airport security check,” causing longer wait times.

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With inputs from Reuters