New CT X-ray machine comes to Edmonton International Airport

Travelling through the Edmonton airport will soon be faster, with new CT X-ray technology being installed, allowing passengers to get through security without having to remove their liquids or take their electronics out of their carry-on bags.

“Anything that gets you to get through the airport faster in onto where you’re going is a benefit, so any machine like that I’m happy to use,” said Rene Taubensee, a traveller.

The huge machine uses advanced 3-dimensional X-ray rotatable images, able to see liquids, aerosols, and gels while still in their bags, as long as they don’t exceed the 100 ml limit.

“Just put the bag through the X-ray, and it will come out the other side hopefully clear,” said Rod Gore, service delivery manager with Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA).

It also allows you to keep electronics and medical devices in your carry-on bags as well.

“That will be more effective. So, they can track whatever we have in our bags,” said Jessrell Ramell, who is travelling to the Philippines.

But not everyone will save time with this machine this holiday season, the CATSA says this is only the first installed in Edmonton, with a total of six planned by the end of March.

“If there’s something inside the book. They can almost make the book disappear so they can see what the item is inside the book,” said Gore.

“The image quality is leaps and bounds above what we have right now. It’s as good as the best TV as an example. It should result in less searches.”

With the holiday travel season underway, the Edmonton International Airport is expected to see 28,000 travelers per day in December. Airport officials are reminding travellers to arrive early before departures, leave gifts unwrapped, and pack smart.

“We’ve been training on that system with our partner CATSA to ensure that it’s running effectively, and it really is a great time to be implementing this, obviously, as we’re heading into that busy time of the year,” said Erin Isfeld, the manager of corporate communications at the Edmonton International Airport.

“This time of the year, we do have extra staff that come on, and certainly we want to ensure that our runways are safe, the aircrafts are safe as well, and so our crews are really trained throughout this season.”