Biometrics for air travel: new solutions deployed in India, South Korea, Brazil

It is an eventful week for the adoption of biometrics for air travel, with a number of governments and private firms deploying new solutions. More specifically, the Pune administration in India confirmed the start of a facial recognition pilot based on the Digi Yatra initiative, Korean Air has launched biometric self-boarding at Seoul Gimpo Airport, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) renewed its partnership with the Government of Brazil (GOB). Also, a new report from Future Market Insights highlights new trends regarding the adoption of biometric tools as security measures for airports.

Pune airport to start face biometrics checks in May

The news was reported by The Times of India (TOI), who recently spoke with Pune airport director Santosh Dhoke as well as with officials familiar with the matter.

“Tests happened in connection to the new feature earlier at the airport and the report has been submitted by the company undertaking the trials,” Dhoke said. “The tests were, however, internal in nature and did not include any passengers.”

Now, Pune airport will officially start public trials of the new system, which will see the installation of special gates with facial recognition cameras. Travelers will be able to choose whether or not to utilize the new biometric boarding system.

“The dry run is expected to go for around two-three months, after which its response and report will be submitted to the Airports Authorities of India (AAI) headquarters,” an official told TOI.

“The system should be a permanent feature at the Pune airport by September or October.”

Korean Air deploys palm vein scan-powered self-boarding

Korean Air has started providing biometric self-boarding services at Seoul’s Gimpo Airport.

The deployment represents the first from the company in the country and will enable passengers to pass through Korean Air’s domestic boarding gates by scanning their palms, without the need for a traditional boarding pass.

To use the biometric self-boarding service, South Korean citizens aged seven or older will need to register their palm vein information at the self-registration desk on the departure floor of Gimpo Airport.

The process will require them to present an ID card and provide consent to the use of their personal information.

The deployment of the new biometric self-boarding service builds on the partnership Korean Air started with Korea Airports Corporation in August 2021.

Korean Air’s biometrics efforts are also part of a collaboration between the company and the International Air Transport Association (IATA), particularly regarding IATA’s One ID platform.

CBP welcomes Brazil to Global Entry program

The partnership between CBP and GOB follows an arrangement the institutions started in November 2019, and will now increase the number of Brazilian citizens eligible for Global Entry, particularly those traveling for tourism and business purposes.

The Global Entry program is designed to offer expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers arriving in the United States. It is one of four branches of the U.S. Trusted Traveler Program, which features a number of technologies designed to increase the security and convenience of air travel.

These include biometrics kiosks featuring facial recognition capabilities.

Smart security for travel to be driven by biometrics: Future Market Insights

The new report places the current market value for security screening at US$7.8 billion, claiming the figure may reach $10 billion by 2024.

The research from Future Market Insights also shows how this growth will be driven substantially by airport applications.

“Explosive trace detectors, currently accounting for nearly 1/4th share of the total sales of security screening systems, will reportedly witness strong growth in demand through the coming years,” the report reads.

“X-Ray screening systems and biometric systems are also highly popular among the end-use application areas in the security screening market.”

According to the market research firm, the collective market value share of these security screening systems is currently just under 50 percent of the whole sector, with substantial growth potential driven by the adoption of fingerprint and face recognition technologies.

From a geographical standpoint, the report mentions East Asia as the most lucrative market for investors in security screening systems, followed by China, India, and Russia.And in terms of the main actors behind this growth, the report mentions TrueID and NEC Corporation, among others.

Article Topics

airports  |  biometrics  |  border security  |  CBP  |  face biometrics  |  identity verification  |  palm vein  |  passenger processing  |  travel and tourism  |  trusted traveller