SITA and Idemia partner on airport biometrics, digital identity interoperability

Two of the largest global suppliers of airport biometrics and traveler digital identities, SITA and Idemia Public Security, are collaborating on a decentralized trust network to increase interoperability in the sector with what they refer to as a “Digital Travel Ecosystem.”

The rapid adoption of biometrics and digital identities by governments, airports and airlines has led to challenges in consistency, trust and security, the partners say.

The Digital Travel Ecosystem is intended to ensure that travelers’ digital identities are recognized and trusted around the world. The project will bring together identity management market players to create an open, secure and interoperable framework to allow digital identities to be used without any integration between the issuer and verifier, according to the announcement.

Indicio is also participating in the Ecosystem, bringing a privacy-by-design approach to the development of a way for passengers to securely share their digital credentials. SITA was the lead investor in Indicio’s series A funding round earlier this year, and the companies worked together on Aruba’s Happy One Pass.

Idemia will contribute to the interoperability of biometric and digital systems across airports, border crossings and travel touchpoints under the partnership. That interoperability will lead to fast passenger processing, stronger data security and stakeholder resource optimization, the companies say.

“As the travel industry adopts a wide range of digital identity and biometric solutions, ensuring interoperability and trust is key across various sectors,” says Jeremy Springall, SVP of Borders at SITA. “With Idemia’s collaboration in the Digital Travel Ecosystem, we’re enhancing the ability of stakeholders to trust a travelers’ digital identity across the entire travel journey. This collaboration is critical to advancing global standards for privacy, trust, and security, while enabling smoother operations and reducing costs.”

SITA already has a role in 95 percent of all passenger journeys.

“In a world where data privacy concerns are at the forefront, this approach of an interoperable Digital Travel Ecosystem provides a responsible, transparent solution for ensuring how passenger information is shared,” comment Tim Ferris, SVP of Travel & Transport for Idemia Public Security. “With our shared mission to enhance the passenger experience without compromising security, Idemia is proud to partner with SITA. By integrating our technologies around common standards, we can drive global adoption of secured digital capability and biometric authentication, ensuring that passengers’ data remains secure while delivering a streamlined travel experience.”

SITA is presenting the Digital Travel Ecosystem as a scalable, open framework for real-time data exchange that also preserves privacy and security. With IATA predicting passenger volumes to double from 2019 to 2040, reaching 8 billion annual flights and Goode Intelligence forecasting that 1.27 billion people will use digital ID for travel, scalability and interoperability are the next steps in ensuring the practical usefulness of traveler digital identities.

Article Topics

airports  |  biometrics  |  data privacy  |  decentralized ID  |  digital identity  |  digital travel  |  digital travel credentials  |  IDEMIA  |  Idemia Public Security  |  Indicio  |  interoperability  |  SITA