Airports in 4 countries deploy biometrics, digitize to streamline operations

Biometric projects in the U.S., Vietnam, Kazakhstan and India are pushing the boundaries for digital ID verification and authentication.

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is expected to launch a new application for its PreCheck program and ID verifier Clear’s app.

Clear is one of two companies being added to PreCheck enrollment. Idemia is the other.

A Clear spokesman noted that its software and hardware still have to meet TSA requirements and complete a trial period. Once completed, Clear subscribers will to be able to enroll in PreCheck at designated Clear terminals.

According to the aviation trade publication The Points Guy, Clear and PreCheck have over 14 million members. Last year’s PreCheck membership increased 27 percent over 2021, reaching 14.3 million.

Vision-Box picked by Vietnam to do border control at 5 airports

Vision-Box was chosen for the border modernization project by the Vietnamese Communist Party.

Vision-Box will update border control gates with face and fingerprint recognition, manual border controls and self-service enrolment terminals.

The firm will integrate the airport infrastructure with its Seamless Journey Platform, designed to provide rapid data sharing among immigration staff, improve safety and streamline border crossing.

SITA chosen to digitize Kazakhstan airport operations

Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport in Kazakhstan has hired SITA to reduce operational costs and improve aircraft turnaround times.

SITA will sell the airport passenger, baggage and operational IT systems and its Airport Management software, which are expected to improve operational forecasting and airport management.

The airport also plans to deploy SITA’s Smart Path check-in kiosks and bag-drop units, designed to reduce physical contact for passengers, in line with the International Air Transport Association’s One ID program.

The plan is for passengers can use their faces as boarding passes.

Right now, the focus on using the systems as “a key enabler in streamlining airside operations,” says Daulet Hamzin, chairman of the management board at Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport.

Kolkata airport opens Digi Yatra facial recognition service

Digi Yatra, Indian biometric passenger-processing software, has been rolled out at the Kolkata airport, allowing travelers to check in for flights and board planes using facial recognition.

It is “eliminating the need for verification of ticket and ID at multiple touch points and to achieve better movement of passengers through existing infrastructure,” according to a Kolkata airport statement.

About 9,200 passengers have already used the service, which is available for Air India, IndiGo, GoFirst, Vistara and SpiceJet flights.

Passengers must register a photo and personal information on the Digi Yatra app using Aadhaar-based validation and scan their boarding pass before entering the airport.

Airport authorities say passenger data is stored in a decentralized and encrypted format.

Article Topics

airports  |  biometric authentication  |  CLEAR  |  contactless biometrics  |  Digi Yatra  |  digital identity  |  SITA  |  TSA  |  Vision-Box