Airlines and Airports Look to Biometrics to Improve the Passenger Experience
Photo Credit: KLM is using facial recognition software for boarding at one gate in Amsterdam. More airlines might try something similar in the near future. KLM
Skift Take
Consumers are more comfortable with biometrics than ever, and we can probably thank Apple for that. Now airlines are starting to ask whether they might use facial recognition, fingerprints or iris scans to make the passenger experience better. Here's hoping they succeed.
Recently, passengers on some KLM flights departing Amsterdam haven't shown a boarding pass to get on a plane. They haven't needed to show their IDs, nor have they interacted with an agent at the boarding door.
Instead, KLM has been using facial recognition software for a multi-month trial that began in February. By the time each passenger boards at the airline's test gate, KLM's systems already have scanned the traveler's passport, boarding pass, and face. From there, passengers get on the plane — no documents required. Then, after the flight, the airline erases the data.
It's just a test, and it may not speed the airport experience, since passengers still must wait in other lines. But KLM's approach, along with similar ones from other airlines, including British Airways at London Heathrow and Air New Zealand in Brisbane, Australia, shows what's possible with biometrics, and how future travelers may avoid showing documents at each stop in the terminal. Airlines expect they
