biometrics

Queues for passengers from outside the Schengen area are getting longer at European airports, with waiting times regularly reaching two hours. A nightmare for travellers setting foot in the Schengen area, and one that is likely to get even worse with the summer holiday peaks. This is why ACI Europe (Airports Council International), the...

A whole new world is opening up to business travellers in 2024. Singapore Changi airport is due to introduce biometric passenger screening, including facial recognition, this year. The combination of the two technologies will eliminate the need for passengers to present passports and boarding passes. Full biometrics is the first step...

Determined to maintain its status as one of Europe's leading hubs, Frankfurt airport is pursuing its policy of investment and innovation. The latest milestone was the announcement on 26 October that the airport now has full biometric coverage. In other words, all the airlines at the German airport can now use facial biometrics as a means of identification, and...

The new system adopted by Eurostar in July is called "SmartCheck" and has been designed by iProov. Already being trialled from December 2021 to April 2022, it enables facial biometric passenger registration at London St Pancras station. It is reserved for Business Premier passengers and members of the...

Alaska Airlines is stepping up its initiatives aimed at business customers. The latest example: the airline has decided to connect its Mileage Plan frequent flyer programme to Clear Plus. Frequent flyers will be able to join this biometrics-based queue-cutting system at a reduced rate. Clear Plus is presented as a...

Simplifying the airport passenger experience using biometric technology. This is what Berlin airport is testing with its new facial recognition application BER Traveller. The airport authority is working in partnership with the Lufthansa group and biometric service provider FastID. The three companies have just launched a test phase. During this period, the service...

Canada's skies are turning to facial recognition. And it is the national carrier Air Canada that is leading the way with this innovation, designed to make the passenger experience smoother. The airline unveiled this pilot project on 21 February. For the time being, the experiment is limited to Vancouver International Airport. And it does not concern...

Biometrics is nothing new at Dubai airport. Innovative by nature, the hub has already deployed this technology in terminal 3 to offer a seamless travel experience for Emirates passengers. However, on condition that they are residents of the United Arab Emirates or nationals of countries belonging to the United Nations Cooperation Council (UNCC), the...

The increase this summer in congested airport terminals with interminable queues for passengers is prompting Star Alliance to speed up the introduction of biometric technologies. The world's largest airline alliance, with 26 members, wants to increase the possibilities for contactless travel. And to reduce congestion at airports, especially given the shortcomings...

The launch of Star Alliance's 25th anniversary celebrations will mean a series of innovations for passengers. One of the most important is the launch of a future co-branded credit card. This will include all the airlines in the group. However, few details have been revealed about the future card....

How do you feel about developments in the airline industry? Sergio Colella - The desire to start travelling again is there. I've just come back from two or three trips to Europe and for the first time I've seen queues at airports. I have to say that it's quite pleasing...

In the new process being trialled at Orly airport, the passenger's three recorded documents are then used to speed up all the formalities, from baggage drop-off to border crossing. At each stage of the process, a camera identifies the face and compares it with the stored data. Once recognised, the passenger's...

Driven by the new health context, airlines are speeding up their move towards contactless travel. The latest example comes from Madrid airport, where Iberia recently launched a trial phase with Inetum, Thales, airport operator AENA and the Spanish Centre for Industrial Technological Development (CDTI). The airline...

What will you take away from 2020? Stéphane Durand - For all of us, 2020 has been like sailing through uncharted waters. But our industry has shown its resilience and agility. In an unprecedented context, with a forced slowdown, many have been able to transform themselves to support the profession, their customers, their...

On 9 December, Air Canada announced the launch of biometric boarding: a first for a Canadian carrier departing from the United States. The airline chose San Francisco airport for the launch, but other US hubs should be involved "in the near future". Passenger volunteers - this new boarding format...

Business travellers on the Lufthansa and Swiss networks are about to discover a new travel route for their business trips via Frankfurt and Munich. The two German airports will be the first to offer the new biometric system adopted by Star Alliance. It is based on the NEC I:Delight biometrics and identity management software developed by...

The health situation has prompted Emirates to step up its efforts in the field of biometrics, to make the passenger experience more fluid. For several days now, the airline has been offering a new "biometric route", based on a technology combining facial and iris recognition. This technology is to be applied to all airport procedures, from the...

At a recent seminar, Dave Thomson, Skyscanner's senior technology expert, sketched out what travel could be like in the post-Covid era. The expert predicts an increase in contactless technology, scanner identification, pre-booked security checks, health kiosks, disinfection robots and even...

A biometric journey from home to the plane: that's the promise of Mona, the new high-tech travel companion offered by Lyon-Saint Exupéry airport. Thanks to this free 100 % service, travellers will be able to pass through the various airport checkpoints, from baggage drop-off to boarding, without any physical contact, simply by presenting their faces...

When will biometrics become the norm in air travel? Could this mean the digitisation of passports? Barbara Dalibard - The number of biometric devices in airports has almost doubled in the space of a year. Today, this technology is present in 44 % of platforms. The technology is now mature. The question now concerns...