Those flying out of Aberdeen will immediately notice a new piece of equipment in the lobby of Aberdeen Regional Airport.

In fact, it's hard to miss the conveyor belt and the long silver machine to the right of the main airport terminal entrance.

This equipment was purchased and installed by the Transportation Security Administration. The local baggage check capabilities are now on par with larger commercial airports like those in Minneapolis, Los Angeles and Chicago, according to the TSA.

Aberdeen Transportation Director Rich Krokel said he received notification that the machine was coming about a year ago. His job was to identify space where it could fit.

Krokel said that after eventual improvements to the TSA baggage makeup area, the machine will be moved. But, he said, that'll take a while. He expects the machine will be out in the main terminal space for a couple years.

The computed tomography baggage screening technology gives TSA employees a faster way to screen baggage for outgoing flights.

Mark Heisey, TSA's South Dakota federal security director, said local TSA staff started using the machine in Aberdeen the third week of August after training was finished.

The machine replaces the need for TSA employees to physically open and check the contents of bags, Heisey said. The machine scans the contents of the bag and alerts TSA employees if a suspicious object is identified. Not only does it scan the bag from the side, but cameras within the machine circle around the bag, providing multiple views.

If there's an alert after a scan, TSA employees then check the image and determine if a physical look inside the bag is needed.

Heisey said that means a significant reduction in the number of bags that are opened and checked. Of the 30 to 35 passengers on a flight out of Aberdeen, he said, maybe one or two will have a bag that's physically checked. And, he said, it's a much faster process, estimating that 50 bags can be scanned in about 20 to 30 minutes uning the machine.

"(It's) a lot better than hand-checking bags," he said, noting that it improves security effectiveness.

Heisey did not have details on how much the machine cost, but no funding was needed from the city of Aberdeen. The airports in Aberdeen, Watertown and Pierre had the machines installed this year.

TSA expects to install this equipment in each of the 412 federal airports, 200 of which are about the size of Aberdeen's regional airport.