Digital Travel Credential Pilot relaunched with Idemia biometric app

A Dutch consortium has chosen Idemia to provide technology for the world’s first transatlantic Digital Travel Credential (DTC) Pilot, using biometrics for boarding and border control on flights between Canada and the Netherlands.

The consortium is made up of the Ministries of Justice & Security, Interior and Defense, along with Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, with funding assistance from the European Commission.

The Netherlands and Canada partnered up for the Known Traveller Digital Identity pilot program shortly before the pandemic, in partnership with the World Economic Forum. Idemia was involved, along with Vision-Box and Accenture. The plan collapsed when the pandemic halted normal transatlantic travel.

The DTC-1 Pilot is open to Belgian, Canadian and Dutch travellers flying from Montreal to Amsterdam on KLM.

Participating travellers create a DTC on a dedicated mobile app developed by Idemia, which reads the chip embedded in biometric passports, and compares selfie biometrics to the image it contains. The identity data and an entry questionnaire can then be shared with the airline and border authorities to save time with advanced screening. Processes are then completed with a biometric match and a tap of the passport.

The pilot is intended to ease traveller journeys while providing data privacy and security. The plan is to deploy the pilot more broadly within Europe after three months of testing.

“We are very proud to provide our technology to the Consortium that put European innovation as a banner,” says Jacques Van Zijp, managing director Netherlands PSI for Idemia. “Idemia has always worked in the Identity & Travel Industry to continuously innovate and maintain safe and smooth travel in the face of complex security challenges. The DTC-1 pilot is taking seamless travel one step further by simplifying the travel process, safeguarding privacy, security and global interoperability.”

Article Topics

biometrics  |  border security  |  Canada  |  digital ID  |  digital travel  |  digital travel credentials  |  face biometrics  |  IDEMIA  |  Known Traveller Digital Identity (KTDI)  |  Netherlands