Cincinnati airport tracks Wi-Fi devices

The TSA at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport just got much closer to you. Fox News reports, "Cincinnati Airport will become the first American airport to monitor fliers' cell phones as passengers wait to go through those TSA screening checkpoints."

It's not what you think, though. Businessweek reports that the monitoring is going to be used to "identify congested areas swiftly and display wait times for the security checkpoint." Devices are tracked via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections.

Cincinnati Business Courier says the program, called BlipTrack, is already being used in 20 airports around the world, such as those in Dubai, Amsterdam, Geneva, Oslo and Toronto.

Tech company Lockheed Martin developed the program, and its director of Global Airports told WCPO:

"The BlipTrack technology benefits both passengers and the airport team, as it allows them to see, in real time, where potential queues and pressure points are and provide proactive planning of the situation to improve service."

In a press release, Lockheed Martin said, "BlipTrack does not send or track any personal information; it simply monitors the number of mobile phone signals in a given area."

The Cincinnati Business Courier also notes that airport officials do not intend to alert passengers about the new program once it goes into effect because it "doesn't gather data to identify a device or other personal information."