Kozminski Techblog

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All we know how boring and irritating the process of crossing the border through the airport could be with all its endless lines at the check-in counter, border check and boarding gate.

With the introduction of biometrics, lifelong waitings may become a thing of the past. Biometric technology such as fingerprint scanning or facial recognition on smartphones is already being used by millions of people around the world as a way to improve security. Recently though, it’s also been adopted by airlines and airports to transform the customer journey.

For example, Delta, an American airline,has already announced that the Atlanta airport’s Terminal F has become the “first biometric terminal” in the United States where passengers can use facial recognition technology “from curb to gate.”

How does it work?

 

First of all, customers will have to provide passport information during online check-in. Or, as an alternative, they will be able to scan it in the airport. Afterwards, travelers can click “Look” to check data on these automated kiosks. Travelers’ face scans will be matched to passport or visa photos on file with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Now it gives an opportunity to several categories of passengers, including citizens and many visitors, to verify their identities, followed by a brief chat with an officer.

 

 

Alternative approaches using palm-vein identification in South Korea are also part of this trend.

Air passengers in South Korea will be able to use palm vein biometrics for authentication during boarding checks, after the Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute (KFTC) and the Korea Airports Corporation (KAC) signed a memorandum of understanding(MoU).

The MOU contains an agreement on sharing palm vein information registered in the financial sector with public airlines.

Customers who register their biometric information with their bank will be able to easily complete procedures such as identification and check-in at airports across the country.

Users can also be identified using biometric information at duty-free stores as well as for currency exchange.

The target facilities are 14 domestic airports, and the starting date of the use of the biometric information is due in January in 2020.

 

The technology is growing in popularity for precisely this reason: it offers a way to process passengers through airports faster and more cheaply. SITA, an air-transport technology company, recently found that 77% of airports and 71% of airlines plan to invest heavily in biometric identification in the next three years. Now it is already used in Britain, Singapore, Japan, China and America. And one airline says that by using biometric boarding gates in Los Angeles it can get 400 passengers onto a plane in 22 minutes—half the usual time.

References:

1)https://resources.vistair.com/articles/airline-industry-technology-trends-2019

2)https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/biometric-screening-airports-spreading-fast-some-fear-face-scanning-systems-ncna982756

3)https://www.futuretravelexperience.com/2019/01/10-technology-trends-airlines-airports-2019/

4)https://www.eturbonews.com/254446/7-new-technologies-that-will-rock-the-future-of-air-travel/

5)https://www.smithsdetection.com/insight/aviation/looking-forward-to-2020-beyond-top-trends-for-airports-and-aviation/

6)https://eu.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2018/11/29/delta-usas-first-biometric-terminal-ready-go-atlanta-airport/2145655002/

7)https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2018/11/12/how-airports-use-biometric-technology

8)http://koreabizwire.com/palm-vein-authentication-to-speed-up-airport-services/139770