John F. Kennedy Airport is testing new translation devices that can deliver visual and audio instructions in 83 different languages, as well as assist the vision and hearing impaired.
JFK is one of 10 airports in the country testing 50 of the handheld devices at security checkpoints with the Transportation Security Administration. The five translation readers, each smaller than a smartphone, are being used at JFK terminals to audibly announce questions and directions. They also show a digital readout of instructions and can translate instructions to or from other languages into English.
TSA officials said the devices, which are two months into a pilot program, are meant to expedite airport security for non-English speaking travelers and also to expand accessibility for the hearing and vision impaired.
“We hope this will turn out to be a valuable tool for our officers to provide guidance to passengers who might not speak English,” said John Essig, the federal security director for Kennedy Airport.
Essig said that the translators will provide a quicker resource than relocating officers who may be fluent in other languages. The devices will also help explain directions at security such as if agents need to open a carry-on bag for a search. Agents can now give those directives, or orders to take off shoes for a security screening in a traveler’s most comfortable language, Essig said.
JFK sees 90,000 passengers departing daily, Essig said. That includes the airport’s largest international Terminal 4, which sees up to 20,000 passengers daily, and more than 10,000 passengers at its international Terminal 1.
TSA agents demonstrated the devices last week at JFK as passengers were waiting in winding security lines to board flights on 85 international airlines, ranging from India to Kenya.
Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition, said the TSA should continue to update languages spoken at checkpoints and train agents with a list of terms that can be translated. He also called for increasing transparency to ensure there are no breaches of personal privacy.
“It is important that all New Yorkers and people traveling through New York to be able to communicate with government officials,” Awawdeh said. “No matter what language they speak.”
Disability advocates said the new translators will also improve accessibility for the blind and deaf community.
The new field testing of the devices will help up to 100 million deaf and hard-of-hearing travelers who go through U.S. airports annually, said Chris Rosa, president and CEO of the Albertson-based Viscardi Center, a nonprofit that advocates for disabled children and adults.
He said improving communication with enhanced technology may improve the quality of travel for hearing impaired passengers.
“Communication barriers are a source of anxiety and risk for deaf and hard-of-hearing passengers during high-stakes encounters at TSA checkpoints,” Rosa said. “Communication struggles can be awkward, result in holding up already long lines of travelers awaiting screening, and create suspicion among TSA agents when deaf and hard-of-hearing passengers appear not to be responding confidently.”
The TSA also offers a program called TSA Cares to assist passengers with disabilities to escort them through airport security.
The specially trained offers can meet passengers at checkpoints and help anyone with limited mobility or anxiety, Essig said. The TSA asks passengers to request assistance 72 hours in advance.
“The whole purpose is not just to help one community,” Essig said. “This is for everyone who struggles to get through security.”
Therese Brzezinski, director of the Long Island Center for Independent Living, said assistance and accessibility using the translation devices will make travel easier for everyone.
Brzezinski added that there needs to be increased awareness and sensitivity for the deaf and blind community, “especially when screening the variety of devices they may depend upon to navigate safely and stay connected, engaged, and informed.”
“Travel has become a stressful experience no matter who you are,” she said. “Travel as a person with disabilities and/or language differences dials the stress level up to 11. So, TSA’s development of services like TSA Cares and use of these communication devices has the potential to make an incredible difference.”
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
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