Facial recognition for air travel expands in China, Australia

Facial recognition systems have been deployed to 557 security channels at 62 airports in China, including Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, to speed up security checks for travelers, the Business Standard reports.

The system is provided by the Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology (CIGIT), and its deployment covers 80 percent of China’s airports with annual passenger throughput of more than 30 million. It automates the verification of passenger identities with facial recognition and ID card or passport scans, and the process takes less than one second, according to CIGIT head Shi Yu.

Australia launches first trial of facial recognition for air travel

Passengers departing from Brisabane on Air New Zealand flights have begun using facial recognition technology provided by SITA for self-service check-in, Australian Aviation reports. Passengers create a single secure token linked to their travel documents at a SITA Smart Path kiosk, and then pass through an automated boarding gate without presenting a boarding pass, or passport.

SITA hopes to extend biometric technology to “every touchpoint” in the airport, SITA President for Asia Pacific Sumesh Patel said.

The recent SITA 2017 Air Transport IT Trends Insights report shows that 51 percent of airports are planning to implement biometric self-boarding gates by 2020.

Biometric boarding from SITA recently became available at Orlando International Airport and Hamad International Airport in Qatar, and the company recently picked up an Aviation Technology Achievement award for its work with JetBlue and U.S. CBP at Boston’s Logan International Airport.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  passenger processing  |  SITA