Miami International Airport awarded for biometric passenger screening

The new biometrics-only passport screening facility at Miami International Airport (MIA) has been won a 2018 International Airport Review Award in the Passenger Experience and Seamless Travel – Airports category.

The award winners were chosen from among 80 worldwide nominations by a process in which a shortlist was determined by more than 12,000 votes from aviation industry stakeholders, and a panel of industry experts selecting from the shortlist.

MIA launched its facial recognition screening facility in its renovated Concourse E as part of its biometric entry pilot in November 2017. It has been used to screen up to ten passengers a minute, and wait times have decreased by between 30 and 80 percent year over year for airlines using the facility after relocating from Concourse D, according to the announcement. The airport plans to begin expanding its biometric entry processing capability to Concourses D and J during 2019.

“Congratulations to MIA for once again being recognized as a global leader in the field of seamless passenger screening and innovative technology,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez. “Recent enhancements are providing the world-class travel experience we want all our visitors to have when they enter Miami-Dade County.”

“We are honored to be recognized by International Airport Review, and by voters from our industry, for the launch of this cutting-edge passport screening facility,” said Miami-Dade Aviation Director Lester Sola. “We look forward to partnering with CBP on the expansion of biometric screening throughout our terminal, which will mean shorter, smoother wait times for all our passengers.”

Louis Armstrong airport in New Orleans is the latest U.S. airport to add biometric passenger screening in a big year for airport biometrics.

Article Topics

airport biometrics  |  biometric exit  |  biometrics  |  CBP  |  facial recognition  |  passenger processing