NEXUS kiosks at Canadian airports upgraded with facial recognition

Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced its plan to upgrade the Nexus program by replacing the old iris scanning kiosks, which had not been updated in over 6 years, with new ones that integrate facial recognition technology to speed up air processing for Nexus members at Canadian airports, writes Travel Codex following an email received about the modernization plans.

When using the new kiosks, passengers will have to upload their passport photo for storage and identification. Nexus members travelling without passports will have to see an officer to have their identity verified.

CBSA assures users that all the information is protected by U.S. and Canadian privacy legislation, and that the kiosks do not store any personal information. The only details saved are according to government information, privacy and security policies.

Nexus members have been informed of the changes by letter.

The Daily Hive reports Vancouver International Airport will be the first to benefit from the modernization project starting the fall of 2019, yet no exact date has been provided. Other airports that will integrate the new facial recognition kiosks are Halifax Stanfield International Airport, Montréal Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, Calgary International Airport, Edmonton International Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport, and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.

“This initiative aligns the NEXUS program with international trends on traveler processing, and supports the CBSA’s goal to increase efficiencies without compromising security,” CBSA said in a statement.

The Nexus program is run by both U.S. Customs & Border Protection and CBSA.

Last year U.S. Customs and Border Protection launched a pilot program at Orlando International Airport integrating facial biometrics into Global Entry kiosks.

Article Topics

airport biometrics  |  biometrics  |  border security  |  Canada  |  facial recognition  |  iris recognition  |  kiosk  |  passenger processing