The future is biometric | The West Australian
Imagine an airport without queues, where your face becomes your means to breeze through check-in, passport control, security and boarding.
This is the vision of airports, airlines and technology providers where airport processes in the future will be based on a passenger’s unique biometrics and digital identity.
Elements of this are already deployed at airports around the world, but the future vision is one where every touchpoint in a journey is part of an end-to-end biometric path, all designed to improve the passenger experience and address existing constraints in the system.
Without such state-of-the-art digital solutions, airlines and airports will struggle to manage passenger numbers in the future, according to air transport IT provider SITA, pointing to forecasts of eight billion air travellers each year by 2040.
Booming passenger numbers put increased pressure on airports, national borders and airline resources, it says. “Existing paper-based and manual travel infrastructure and legacy processes simply won’t be able to cope,” says SITA, which has developed its own biometric end-to-end passenger processing solution, SITA Smart Path, already in use at more than 40 airports worldwide.
“SITA Smart Path biometrically enables every step of the passenger journey, from mobile enrolment to aircraft boarding and every point in between and beyond,” explains Stefan Schaffner, SITA’s vice president of airports. “With facial recognition across as many airport touch points as you need, it lets passengers manage their identity across their whole journey, in a unique and touchless way.
“The final result is a radically improved travel experience,” he adds.
Camera IconHaneda biometrics. Credit: Supplied
The biometric process starts with the creation of a secure, encrypted digital token, by combining a passenger’s ID (passport), biometric (a selfie) and travel itinerary. The data is stored on the passenger’s personal mobile device. Once enrolled, the passenger can use their face as their identity at each airport touchpoint, without the need to show travel documents.
Airports and airlines are embracing biometric-based self-service solutions. By 2026, more than 50 per cent of airports plan to implement biometrics at check-in and bag drop, and 70 per cent of airlines expect to have biometric ID management in place, according to SITA. The attraction for airports and airlines is clear, with biometrically enabled travel providing the opportunity to do more with less, including increasing capacity without major investments; optimising resources, especially staff; faster passenger processing; offering new revenue-generating opportunities; and improved security through trusted biometric information.
The latest Global Passenger Survey conducted by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) suggests passengers are increasingly coming to terms with biometric-based processes, recognising the speed and convenience benefits.
The survey found that 75 per cent of those questioned want to use biometric data instead of passports and boarding passes, while there was an 85 per cent satisfaction rating from those passengers who had already used biometrics.
“Today’s airline passengers are comfortable using technology and new digital services to make their travel experience easier and more enjoyable,” says Sumesh Patel, president APAC at SITA. “They are open to increased digitalisation across the entire travel experience, from boarding and security to identity verification and automated checks,” he says.
Millennial and Gen X passengers in particular are expected to accelerate digital travel in the future.
Amadeus, which has developed biometric solutions for airport touchpoints including check-in, bag drop and boarding, says such solutions are already transforming the passenger experience.
“Replacing manual document checks with biometrics can unlock many benefits, improving on-time performance and enhancing security,” it says. “Self-service efficiency gains include passengers spending less than 20 seconds at bag drop, 40-60 per cent less staff required for check-in and manual document checks, and the reduction of boarding times.”
Biometrics could even find a place in more customer service points at the airport, according to Amadeus, pointing to the possible future use of the technology to pay for goods and services or wayfinding.
However in an age of data breaches, identity fraud and cyber-attacks, concerns not surprisingly remain around data security. Half of all passengers questioned in IATA’s survey raised concerns about data protection, including data breaches, data being shared with other organisations, not knowing how long data is stored for and how it can be deleted.
Technology providers are working to allay passenger concerns.
“The system is designed so that travel providers don’t need to hold the traveller’s biometric identifiers, instead they are stored on the traveller’s device, offering greater control and self-sovereignty,” says Amadeus. The system is also consent-based, meaning passengers can leave and remove their data when they like, choosing to use biometrics for just a single trip, for example, meaning no data is stored. If a third-party is involved for biometric matching, such as customs and border agencies, biometric identifiers are encrypted during transit.
Camera IconBag drop. Credit: SITA/SuppliedCamera IconUsing an airport check-in kiosk. Credit: SITA/SuppliedCamera IconPlenty of information. Credit: SITA/SuppliedCamera IconBoarding at smart gates. Credit: Supplied
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