Switzerland closer to facial recognition at airports

Swiss airports and airlines may soon be permitted to deploy facial recognition.

On Wednesday, the Federal Council adopted proposed amendments to the Aviation Act, which establish a legal framework for processing biometric personal data at airports. The legislation is now headed for approval by the Parliament.

The technology would serve as an alternative to traditional security procedures at automated checkpoints, including bag drops, check-in counters, boarding pass verification, and aircraft boarding. The Federal Council says the measure aims to expedite passenger processing and reduce bottlenecks at airport security.

Geneva Airport has already expressed interest in biometric check-ins. The airport has deployed biometric hardware from SITA but left the biometric capability switched off, pending regulatory authorization. Zurich Airport also has face biometric gates operational at customs.

Attempts from Swiss airports to introduce biometric screening have previously been met with criticism over privacy.

Media reports have indicated that Aerosuisse, the umbrella organization of Swiss airports and airlines, is hoping to “circumvent” the country’s data protection laws to process biometric data even without the travelers’ consent. Critics have also claimed that airlines from countries lacking data protection regimes could access sensitive biometric data from Swiss citizens.

The concerns have been reflected in the proposed amendments to the Aviation Act. The legislation proposes strict consent requirements for both staff and passengers, who must explicitly agree before undergoing biometric screening. Authorities must provide written information explaining how the data will be used before obtaining consent, Swiss Info reports.

Meanwhile, Switzerland has also introduced the EU’s Entry-Exit System (EES), which launched on October 12th at Basel and Geneva airports. Zurich Airport and smaller airports are expected to join from mid-November.

The border registration scheme is aimed at non-EU nationals crossing the external borders of the Schengen Area. Switzerland is not part of the EU, but is part of the Schengen zone.

Article Topics

airport biometrics  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  passenger processing  |  Switzerland