Massimo Morin, Global Head of Travel at Amazon Web Services and Jason Birnbaum, Chief Information Officer at United Airlines in conversation with Skift’s Jeremy Kressmann in a panel done in partnership with AWS at Skift Aviation Forum on November 16, 2022 in Dallas, TX.

BYJEAN CARMELA LIM 2023-03-10

MONOPOLY919 / Shutterstock.com

We have often wondered what airports will look like in the future. But with the fast development of new technology, the future airports that we envisioned seem to be gradually becoming a reality.

From advanced biometric capture software and shoe scanners to immersive retail experiences, AeroTime takes a closer look at five newly implemented innovations that are coming to an airport near you.

Biometric technology 

Image credit: metamorworks / Shutterstock.com

Biometric technology has been around since 1969 when the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) pushed for the use of automated fingerprint identification. The first fingerprint scanners were introduced in 1975, and in the 1990s and 2000s, biometric security authentication is commonplace in companies and institutions. 

In 2001, United States legislation mandated the use of biometrics at airports for entry and exit following the 9/11 attacks. Since then, the use of biometrics, particularly hand and fingerprint scanning, have been widely used in airports worldwide. 

The pandemic accelerated the development of non-contact biometric authentication to facilitate a more hygienic and seamless experience for passengers. The International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) 2021 global passenger survey showed that 73% of passengers were willing to share their biometric data to improve airport processes (up from 46% in 2019).

According to the Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques (SITA) 2021 Air Transport IT Insights, nearly a quarter of airports worldwide had begun to invest in biometric solutions and airline investment in biometric boarding is expected to rise 60% by 2024. 

Two notable airlines that use contactless biometrics for its passenger processing are Emirates and British Airways.

Emirates’ biometric path at Dubai International Airport (DXB) launched in October 2020 and is open to Emirates passengers traveling from and through DXB airport. 

Using the latest biometric technology, a mix of facial and iris recognition, Emirates passengers can now check in for their flight, complete immigration formalities, enter the airline lounge, and board flights, simply by strolling through the airport. Biometric data can be collected without the need for passengers to even stop. 

In November 2022, British Airways launched a “smart technology trial”, where a group of passengers were invited to scan their faces, passports and boarding passes on their smartphone or tablet ahead of travel. The information was kept safe and secure. 

When the trial passengers arrived at London Heathrow’s Terminal 5,  Smart Bio-Pod cameras verified their identity in under three seconds, allowing them to keep their passport safely in their pocket until they reached their destination. 

Mobile passport control app 

Image credit: Jacob Lund / Shutterstock.com

Some of the latest airport security innovations can literally be kept in the palm of a hand.

Launched in March 2023, the US Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Mobile Passport Control (MPC) program is now a mobile phone app that allows eligible passengers flying to the US from Canada to avoid the customs queue. 

According to the CBP, travelers who successfully use the MPC app will no longer have to complete a paper form or use an automated passport control (APC) kiosk. As a result, travelers may experience shorter wait times, less congestion and more efficient processing.

The app can be downloaded for free from the Apple App and Google Play stores. This technology is made possible because of secure information sharing. Travelers will be prompted to create a profile with their passport information, including the traveler’s name, gender, date of birth, and country of citizenship.

 It is currently available for eligible travelers to use upon arrival at MPC approved sites.

Next generation explosives trace detection

Image credit: Suppawit Rmmabut / Shutterstock.com

The MIT Lincoln Laboratory is a US-government funded research and development center chartered to apply advanced technology towards national security. 

In February 2023, the lab announced that its researchers are working to develop an explosive detection system that would work in tandem with a canine fleet to improve current airport security systems. 

Researchers are developing a machine that can mimic canine abilities to detect concealed explosives, a ‘superpower’ of four-legged friends that airports have relied on for decades.

The team’s research builds on the laboratory’s ongoing work to create and use a mass spectrometer to help train bomb-sniffing dogs, a project that is supported by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Detection Canine Program. 

Researchers are using the spectrometer to measure explosive vapors in order to understand the requirements for creating an operational explosive detection system. This system would then work in tandem with the canine fleet to improve current airport security systems.

The laboratory’s end goal is to build a non-contact explosives detection instrument through vapor detection. 

This technology will certainly be useful, especially when passengers check in baggage that contains explosives. 

Shoe scanner technology

Image credit: d13 / Shutterstock.com

While the technology is still in development, it is one that many will be relieved to see implemented in real life.

In 2010, a CNN survey showed passengers dreaded removing shoes at airport security the most. Although the survey is more than a decade old, passengers in 2022 still find pat-downs and shoe removal at airport security to be a humiliating experience.  

The US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has licensed technology for a shoe scanner developed in 2021 to Liberty Defense Holdings, a concealed weapons detection company based in Georgia.

According to the developers, the scanner allows shoes to be screened without the need for passengers to remove them. The millimeter-wave scanners use advanced imaging to detect concealed objects in footwear. Passengers will be asked to step on a low-profile imaging platform for two seconds while electromagnetic waves generate an image of their shoes.

The PNNL said that the shoe scanner could improve wait times at security kiosks by as much as 15% to 20% by eliminating the time it takes for travelers to remove their shoes.

Immersive retail experiences

Image credit: globalcosmeticsnews.com

Passengers can expect more immersive retail experiences at airports with the use of Virtual and Augmented Reality technology. 

A 2017 study carried out by the University of Southern Mississippi showed that emotions are involved when people shop at airports. Leisure travelers often feel happy and buy souvenirs to share with friends back home and also to give themselves a reminder of their holiday. Boredom at the airport can also bring passengers to shop in order to kill time.

So airport retailers are taking advantage of advanced technology to further improve conversion and sales. In November 2021, ahead of the holiday season, LHR airport partnered with Chanel, Dufry and JCDecaux to launch a No 5 Spaceship activation in the departure lounge at Terminal 5.

The immersive experience included a “Find No 5” game for customers, which sells the brand’s fragrance line as well as a curated offering of skincare and cosmetics. 

An augmented reality (AR) digital screen also allowed shoppers to virtually try on products.

According to Future Travel Experience, old-fashioned “bricks and mortar” shopping is in decline and such experiential retail tactics could be the answer to increasing conversion and yield at the airport. 

source : https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/five-airport-innovations-that-will-make-travel-easier-in-2023

We have created Fly to Gate, based on IATA’s OneID concept, the end-to-end airport self-service experience for travelers.​​​​
Thales Fly to Gate solution combines Thales deep expertise in  biometrics, identity management, border control, cybersecurity and  system integration.

Effective self-service solutions that airports and airlines can implement at their own pace are a must considering the rise in air travellers.

Air travel is exciting! It is the start of a journey. But long queues can sometimes make it stressful. In order for air travel stakeholders to keep customers satisfied, while optimizing airport operational efficiency, a seamless passenger experience is crucial. Thales Fly to Gate solution enables a touchless, fast and easy passenger journey – from check-in (whether at home or at the airport) to boarding. It combines Thales’ deep expertise in biometrics, identity management, border, security and system integration, to offer an end-to-end solution that improves both passenger experience and airport efficiency. Thales Fly to Gate, compliant with IATA’s OneID concept, uses biometric authentication at the mandatory airport checkpoints, allowing passengers to move through quickly and effortlessly – and with no compromise on security and personal data protection. To learn more about this solution visit our Fly to Gate page: https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/market…

Amorph Systems and Vantiq are collaborating with each other and an unknown number of development and hardware partners on integrated systems for continuous, real-time biometric and thermal monitoring for airports.

An application developed by Amorph Systems uses thermal cameras, lidar-based crowd density measurements and flight information to identify potential problem areas and guide redirected passenger flows and other operational controls. When a fever is detected, an integrated security camera uses computer vision technology to correlate with the system to take a snapshot to identify the individual, and point-to-point tracking is carried out with facial recognition.

The partners the companies are working with include Hikvision and T-Systems.

“Airports are under incredible pressure right now, as they address exceptional operational issues caused by COVID-19,” says Dr. Frank Frauenhoffer, managing director of Amorph Systems, in a press release. “Our new application will be highly valuable not only to manage the current situation, but to prepare for future waves of COVID-19 or other potential virus outbreaks of other viruses. In order to keep passengers safe, airports need to apply new real-time health measures.”

Frauenhoffer says the system is scalable, and that by leveraging Vantiq’s low-code platform, Amorph Systems was able to stand up a fully integrated solution at Helsinki Airport and others in only a few weeks. The AMORPH.aero system is used by dozens of airports globally.

“We believe these systems will be critical to opening up retail stores, office buildings, airports, stadiums, factories, and health care facilities around the world,” Vantiq CEO Marty Sprinzen states, according to Vision-Spectra.

source : https://www.biometricupdate.com/202004/real-time-biometric-and-thermal-tracking-for-airports-developed-by-amorph-systems-and-vantiq

The spread of biometrics systems in Africa in the public and private sector, in particular in Nigeria, topped the stories read by the most Biometric Update visitors for this week. Initiatives for national ID systems, detecting payroll fraud, ensuring student election integrity and secure retail payments in the country were matched by initiatives for mobile services, elections, and mobile banking in other countries on the continent. Airport identity systems were also prominent in industry news, and our series of feature articles providing a deep-dive into pressing issues for the biometrics ecosystem continues with a look at facial recognition policy, with a focus on possible U.S. regulations.

Nigerians have exorcised more than 17,000 ghost workers from the payroll of a single state with biometric registration and used similar technology for a student election, and can provide biometrics-backed NINs to its entire population given at most five years and another $2 billion. The troubles of Tanzania’s SIM registration and resistance to Ghana’s new electoral registration exemplify ongoing delays in implementation of digital ID projects in Africa, however. A separate story on two banks in Nigeria and South Africa launching facial recognition-based services, the former for card-less retail payments and the latter for mobile app authentication, also cracked the top ten Biometric Update articles of the week.

Remark Holdings has integrated contactless fever detection with its facial recognition product and Telpo has integrated its fever detection and face biometrics terminals with payment technologies for public transportation deployments as the coronavirus outbreak draws the world’s attention.

The national digital ID system of Singapore is adding facial recognition authentication service to kiosks at banks and government agency offices to do away with passwords for services. The government is also working on opening up its SingPass Mobile app, adding facial recognition for elderly and overseas Singaporeans who may need the service but not be able to get to the kiosks.

Lenovo Global Communications Manager Andy Barron tells part of the story of the creation of the FIDO Alliance and the specifications it creates in a blog post on the expected growth of passwordless authentication spurred by Microsoft’s adoption of them for Windows 10 last year.

In a busy week for travel biometrics, the ICAO published a Master List of digital certificates to help border authorities authenticate biometric passports, as well as to begin the process of extending the documents to “non-state non-commercial” applications, which might be part of seamless travel systems. The TSA, meanwhile, is rolling out a new portable document checker to airports across the country which verify the validity of photo credentials and provide flight information. The agency also announced that PreCheck has passed the 10 million-member milestone.

AirAsia is using biometrics and big data to transform its brand by offering customers new experiences, but as Ozy reports, its digital transformation efforts led by new CEO Aireen Omar are also drawing scrutiny. The company is running separate pilots of iris biometrics and the Fast Airport Clearance Experience System (FACES), developed by a partner, to clear travelers.

Two sets of guidelines for using biometrics and other AI systems were released this week by influential groups. The Pentagon’s five principles and the Rome Call for AI Ethics, from a Vatican-hosted group that also includes Microsoft, IBM and others, have a lot in common, starting with requirements for systems to be responsible and reliable.

One use of AI introduced by startup DoNotPay is automated data deletion demands, Fortune reports. The company’s Digital Health “robot lawyer” contacts more than 100 data brokers and informs them that an individual protected by CCPA is formally requesting their facial recognition, location, account or other data be expunged.

Contactless biometrics from Idemia have been successfully trialed at Japan’s Level5 stadium for a soccer league final. The company hopes to roll out its MorphoWave Compact scanners across the facility in collaboration with its partner Japan Aerospace Corporation.

Efforts by biometric technology providers and other stakeholders to steer policy-makers towards effective rules for facial recognition are examined in an in-depth feature article, through conversations with NEC, FaceFirst, IBIA, Identity Strategy Partners, and DHS representatives. As the issue bubbles to the surface, providing the information necessary to support legislation that allows government agencies and businesses to use facial recognition without degrading privacy and civil rights is becoming a priority for all involved. Thanks to those who shared their insights.

The implications of GDPR for facial recognition are examined by REaD Group Data Quality and Governance Manager Andy Bridges in a piece for Digital Marketing Magazine. Bridges argues the central issue is consent, and noting that the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office is planning to introduce new regulation within the next year, he urges businesses to perform Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) and determine the lawful basis for biometrics use proactively. Yoti CEO and Co-founder Robin Tombs tells CalvinAyre.com how face biometrics-backed digital identity technology can make it easier to have transparency, privacy, and compliance in online transactions in an interview from ICE London.

Our interview with Idex CTO Anthony Eaton on the impact the company’s new biometric-system-on-chip is expected to have on the fingerprint smart card market held on to its spot among the most-read news of the week.

Idex SVP David Orme describes the automatic personalization potential of smart cities, and the foundational role biometrics can play in the chain of trust that they will require, in an editorial for TechNative.

Please let us know of any articles, blogs, videos or editorials you would like to share with the broader digital ID and biometrics communities in the comments below, or the channel of your choice.

source :https://www.biometricupdate.com/202003/biometric-passports-digital-id-initiatives-in-africa-and-contactless-tech-top-this-weeks-biometrics-news

Delta Airlines is hoping to bring biometric boarding to the Sea-Tac Airport in the State of Washington before the end of the year. A five-person Port of Seattle commission will meet in mid-December to vote on a security motion related to the new technology.

The program will cover international travelers on Delta flights, leveraging facial recognition cameras to allow passengers to board flights and pass security checkpoints without a boarding document and a passport. The tech will match someone’s face against the passport photo stored in the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) database to ensure that that person is indeed supposed to be on the flight in question.

Participation in the new system would be voluntary. The photos gathered through the program would be transmitted to CBP, but any images of US citizens would be deleted after 12 hours.

“There’s no personal identifiable information that is sent with the digital image,” said Delta Air Lines representative Jason Hausner.

Of course, that alone may not be enough to assuage people’s security concerns. At a separate Port of Seattle commission meeting in September, experts noted that facial recognition has had documented cases of racial biases and often struggles with specific segments of the population.

“Facial recognition tends not to work well on very young children because babies in particular have less differentiation in their faces than you do after you become an older child or an adult,” said Microsoft rep Jacquelyn Krones.

Delta nevertheless expects to install biometric boarding technology at Sea-Tac sometime in late December, arguing that it will save time for airport employees and passengers alike. The airline has already installed biometric tech at six US airports, including Boston Logan Airport, Detroit Metropolitan Airport, and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta.

Delta has been developing is facial recognition capabilities through a partnership with CLEAR, and has indicated that biometric boarding is a top priority moving forward.

Sources: KIRO 7, Times Now News

Vision-Box and Terminal One Group Association (TOGA) have announced a landmark agreement providing seamless biometric boarding at New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK).

German airline Lufthansa is the launch carrier, deploying the one-step paperless biometric boarding process at its largest US gateway. Air France, Japan Airlines and Norwegian Airlines are expected to follow suit.

The digital advancement of the passenger experience at JFK’s Terminal One is a partnership between Vision-Box, TOGA and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). With rising passenger volumes and increased demand for quicker and contactless processes, TOGA opted for seamless biometrics. By using facial recognition instead of passport and boarding pass checks, it has been possible for up to 500 passengers to board an aircraft in less than 20 minutes, significantly improving the passenger experience.

“Our Vision-Box Orchestra platform enables airports and airlines’ capacity to grow their digital capacity and substantially improve performance indicators, while seamlessly securing passengers’ journeys and privacy,” said Miguel Leitmann, CEO and Founder of Vision-Box.

The biometric platform is designed to securely identify travelers through a brief glance at a camera, instantly verifying their identity with US CBP. The one-step process validates the eligibility of the traveler without having to present a passport or boarding pass. Aircraft entry is accomplished with a full digital boarding experience, where passengers are boarded in a seamless and paced way, allowing the airlines to save time and gain efficiencies.

The platform has been adapted according to the individual carriers’ boarding processes, with next-generation common-use services giving JFK one of the largest biometric boarding capabilities yet deployed in the USA.

The platform has been adapted according to the individual carriers’ boarding processes, with next-generation common-use services giving JFK one of the largest biometric boarding capabilities yet deployed in the USA.

The solution is based on Vision-Box’s Orchestra shared biometric services platform, which enables a quick and secure data exchange between stakeholders for a fast, intuitive and seamless process. It provides unprecedented security by confirming to the highest degree of certainty the identity of boarding passengers and the authenticity of their documents, utilizing the USA’s Department of Homeland Security CBP Traveler Verification Service.

source : https://www.passengerterminaltoday.com/news/biometrics/jfk-unveils-vision-box-biometrics.html

By NEC Corporation – an interview with Dr. Atsushi Iwata

Dr. Atsushi Iwata, the Vice President of NEC’s Safer City Solutions Division, explains how biometric services can play a key role in creating a better end-user experience for air passengers, and how NEC has played a key role in helping airlines undertake this digital transformation.

The global airline industry is one of the most competitive sectors in the world and recently the financial outlook for the sector has darkened in the midst of rising fuel costs, increased competition and the threat of a global trade war. In fact, the International Air Traffic Association (IATA), an industry group representing 82 per cent of scheduled air traffic flights, recently cut its profit forecast for 2019 and is expecting the lowest industry profit figure for this year seen since 2014. As such it is increasingly important for airlines to look to new technologies, which can help preserve margins and ultimately deliver a better customer experience in order to stay competitive.

In a recent interview, Dr. Atsushi Iwata, the Vice President of Global Safety for NEC‘s Safer City Solutions Division explained how biometric services can play a key role in enabling airlines to both ease cost pressures and create a better end-user experience for air passengers. Dr. Iwata also explained the key role that NEC has played in helping airlines undertake this digital transformation.

Dr. Iwata pointed out that “one major American carrier was one of the first airlines to embrace biometric technology, deploying an NEC system in Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport international Terminal F. The system offers passengers travelling through the international terminal to opt-in to an end-to-end hassle-free airport experience if a customer wishes to use face recognition technology. If so, the customer is able to check in, drop off luggage, identify themselves at security and board the flight using their face as a form of identification.” He added that ”the system also leverages the U.S. Customs and Border Protection database to identify the passengers for efficient processing at each touchpoint.”

Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is the busiest airport in the world, servicing over 100 million air passengers every year. For this reason, it was the logical starting point for their digital transformation using biometrics. Due to the immense volume of passengers that use this facility, according to a recent study by finder.com, the airport leads the nation in carrier-caused flight delays at 8.8 per cent of all flights and second place in major departure delays at 7.8 per cent after Los Angeles International Airport (source: https://www.finder.com/most-delayed-flights). NEC‘s face recognition is helping airlines to resolve this problem at the airport by reducing the typical boarding time of an international flight by nine minutes, as passengers no longer need to undergo multiple identification checks of their boarding pass and passport. According to estimates from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, flight delays in the country cost airlines US$28 billion per year, hence reducing this huge cost is a top priority for airlines.

Due to the initial success of leveraging biometric technology, Dr. Iwata pointed out that more organisations are embracing face recognition services. He also pointed out that NEC has recently formed a partnership with Star Alliance to allow more airlines to easily integrate face recognition technologies into passenger processing services. Star Alliance is the oldest and largest airline partnership programme, consisting of 28 member airlines who offer over 19,000 daily flights to 1,300 airports in 194 countries. NEC has recently signed a partnership agreement with Star Alliance in order to create an interoperable platform which will enable member airlines to implement biometric services for its frequent flyer passengers. The system is planned to launch with its first Star Alliance partners in the first quarter of 2020, and once implemented will allow Star Alliance passengers to drop off luggage, enter airport lounges and pass through boarding gates. In some cases, passengers may also be able to clear security using this system. The on-boarding experience is designed to be very convenient for users as a passenger can enroll using a mobile device and will only need to register once for any participating airline. Dr. Iwata stressed that ”the service is opt-in and data is stored securely and in accordance with local privacy regulations.” The partnership is innovative as it employs a B2B2B business model where NEC will provide its biometric solutions to Star Alliance who will then provide the said services to its partner airlines.

When asked about the future of how airlines can leverage biometric technology, Dr. Iwata believes: “That the seamless face recognition experience being used and deployed by major airlines and alliance partners is just the beginning of a broader digital transformation now underway. The biometric services currently being used will first expand to other services within an airport and eventually to services outside of an airport. Airlines are in constant need of new products and services to increase revenue and to stay competitive.”

For example, airlines could further expand the use of face recognition technology to allow customers to pay using their facial ID to purchase duty-free items both within an airport facility and in-flight. Eventually airlines may wish to partner with locations outside of an airport such as partner hotels, retail outlets and attractions to offer seamless payment and entry into those facilities as well as with the ultimate goal of making the entire travel experience as efficient and convenient as the current biometric airline experience.

Airlines can also leverage face recognition technology to further enhance the efficiency of their operations such as using biometric services to securely and accurately identify staff members and allow access to sensitive locations. Airlines could also use face recognition technology in-flight to enable flight attendants to identify VIP passengers or passengers with special needs and hence deliver a superior level of customer service. As biometric technology continues to mature, scale airlines will have an increasingly broad and powerful portfolio of products and services to enhance the customer experience and to control costs.

Dr. Iwata concluded the interview by stating that: “NEC not only has significant experience using biometrics in the aviation industry but also in sectors such as retail, entertainment venues, safe cities and physical security and we are very well positioned to seize this opportunity both today and going forward.”

source : https://www.internationalairportreview.com/article/102886/how-biometric-services-are-shaping-the-airline-of-the-future-an-interview-with-nec/?utm_source=Email+marketing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=IAR+-+Third+Party+-+NEC+Japan+Content+eShot+-+26+September+2019&utm_term=How+biometric+services+are+shaping+the+airline+of+the+future&utm_content=http%3a%2f%2femails.internationalairportreview.com%2frussellpublishinglz%2f&gator_td=dDNaXR9leZdWPpC39EX4mRz4u2Qz314NQ8m8iS8REzKJ1jRh4vZMMlbRmYzvoTKMtxmJ1l42kNxQqkoV1017Xikd1E3QIA8lZ4Lt5u%2febDbjktFFpmAaEXOV5uNO6i1DRBSNnC9BvnYMWkyKx9LYhgIm4Glyz5mu8Zw412dJdlRppyX5rNzOkktBLGvsb9pzA1adzPYtVlwp8UP74SP1HASTY%2fDldH1IOwilArbVhi3DViqx3YpJH8htNqgCQvQl