Airport security is going high-tech at the St. Pete/Clearwater International Airport.
Officials are testing what they call an "exit lane portal system" that creates tighter security where passengers exit the gates after landing.
Airport authorities say they had to make a change after the Transportation Security Administration decided to no longer staff exit lanes that aren't adjacent to passenger screening areas.
"So the onus to go ahead and staff that fell on the airlines," said Thomas Jewsbury, director of the St. Pete Clearwater Airport. "And in an attempt to try to work with airlines, try to reduce their costs, we were looking for this automated exit lane solution."
It was costing the airlines about $100,000 a year to staff the exit. This new system is costing just more than $400,000 total.
Half of the cost is being paid for through a grant from the Florida Department of Transportation, but the high-tech exit is going to take some getting used to for passengers.
"Well, I didn't know what was going on," said airline passenger Jill Eaton. "There was a line to get through and you had to walk up and the door close behind you, and in through you want. We didn't know the purpose."
The exit lane portal system is common in airports throughout Europe, but you'll only find it in the U.S. at airports in Atlantic City, Syracuse and now in Tampa Bay.