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AirportImprovement.com      May | June 2026
SPECIAL EVENTS 
MCI
increasing police presence and expanding patrols around the airport 
perimeter,” Freeman shares. “We’re addressing security from both a 
physical and operational standpoint.”
Inside the terminal, extra capacity was built into the checkpoint 
queue system when the new terminal opened in 2023. “If we’re 
fully open, we have 16 security lanes,” Overstreet explains. 
“We may need all 16 during this period, but we’re typically very 
efficient at processing passengers.”
Much of that efficiency will come from new screening gates 
developed by Rohde & Schwarz. TSA is rolling out more than 
100 of the company’s next-generation scanners in six World Cup 
host cities, including Kansas City. The agency awarded Rohde 
& Schwarz a multimillion-dollar contract to deploy its QPS201 
advanced imaging technology scanners, which were added to 
TSA’s Qualified Products List in 2022. Since then, the systems 
have been deployed at more than 80 U.S. airports, and security 
officials expect them to increase both speed and accuracy at 
checkpoints for World Cup fans traveling this summer.
The scanners use millimeter wave technology to detect 
concealed threats in milliseconds, allowing passengers to move 
through checkpoints more quickly and with fewer physical 
demands. The system’s hands-down pose for 
passengers is designed to make screening 
easier and more accessible, while also 
improving throughput during peak travel 
periods. “We have the highest level detection 
offered,” says Darren McCarthy, technical 
marketing manager of Security for Rohde & 
Schwarz America. “Level two is kind of the 
benchmark of what current systems can do, 
and we’re at level four. Think of it like folding a napkin: Each fold 
represents a jump in detection capability, and we’re at that fourth 
level. This high level of detection is always for better resolution of 
objects and ultimately a lower false alarm rate.”
The improvements offer both technical and practical 
advantages over the decades-old technology they’re replacing, 
he continues. “The scan time is five times faster than the blink 
of an eye,” McCarthy specifies. “There are fewer errors due to 
movement because the scan is so fast. Passenger privacy is also 
always preserved because alarm zones are shown as avatars, 
and no images are saved.
DARREN McCARTHY

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