Successful biometric e-gate

Karima Kouidri

Successful biometric e-gate demonstration at LAX blazes trail for commercial aviation

Passengers entered a British Airways flight from LA to London Heathrow at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) this week, using their faces alone as a boarding pass.

Image courtesy of British Airways

As part of the congressional mandate of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to implement a biometric exit system at its ports of entry, it has been working with LAWA’s Information Management and Technology Group on the testing of new biometric equipment at LAX.

In addition to the Boeing 777, British Airways used facial-recognition technology developed by Vision-Box and supported by CBP to board an Airbus A-380, also bound for London Heathrow, later that evening.

Following trials of the equipment late last year, LAWA and British Airways are continuing a pilot programme to demonstrate the capabilities of the technology by using it for two nightly departures to London.

“Biometric boarding, where a passenger’s face is their boarding pass, merges two of our highest priorities – improving the guest experience and enhancing security and safety for all those who travel through or work at LAX,” said Los Angeles Airport Commissioner Gabriel Eshaghian. “These biometric boarding gates are one more way in which LAX is leading the pack, embracing and implementing innovative technology that will help create the world-class airport that Los Angeles deserves.”

These e-gates use emerging technology to enable a faster and easier boarding process for passengers,” said Justin Erbacci, LAWA’s Chief Innovation and Commercial Strategy Officer. “LAX is proud to be the first location in the United States to pilot this unique, paperless, biometric boarding process.”

Each passenger’s photo is captured by the e-gate system and then sent to CBP for matching to the digital photo captured at the initial immigration process.

“U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Biometric Exit Program is successfully modernising the way travellers interact with airports, airlines and CBP –creating a seamless travel process that is both reliable and secure,” said Carlos C. Martel, Director of CBP Office of Field Operations in Los Angeles. “CBP is leading nationwide efforts to streamline the travel process by providing the air travel industry a secure platform for identifying and matching travellers to their identities at multiple points in the travel process, and more predictable, by establishing a clear, easily-understood boarding process.”

British Airways was the first to test this ‘one-step,’ contactless process that relies on the facial recognition capabilities of the system alone, rather than coupled with a boarding pass.

“At the heart of our operation will always be our frontline colleagues and we know that frequent flyers want to travel quickly and easily through the airport – and benefit from the advantages of self-serve technology,” said Raoul Cooper, British Airways’ Airport Transformation Design Manager. “Our aim is for customers to have a seamless experience when they travel with us, and we want to put our customers in complete control of their own journey. This step forward to modernise our operation is a first in the industry, and we will continue to work with airports around the world to evolve this technology, and revolutionise the way in which people travel.”

The Vision-Box e-Gates have been installed at Gates 152, 154 and 156 in the Tom Bradley International Terminal, and additional airlines are making plans to test the technology.

source : https://tinyurl.com/ybn24jo4

Iris and facial-recognition gates go live at Dubai Airport

Karima Kouidri

Dubai

A fleet of state-of-the-art smart gates with facial and iris-recognition technology have gone into action at Dubai Airport (DBX).

Princeton Identity announced the installation of 100 Access500e kiosks at the Middle Eastern hub on Sunday. The kiosks’ contain a face and iris biometric capture device which, Princeton Identity has said, can be integrated into a variety of application solutions. In the case of DBX, that has been to install it in a smart gate, commonly referred to as the ‘Eyen’ gate system. It boasts the capacity to identify passengers within one or two seconds.

“Princeton Identity and the Dubai International Airport share a goal of simplifying and speeding access to keep people and business moving, and the Access500e deployment at the DXB marks a new standard in passenger security,” said Mark Clifton, Chief Executive Officer at Princeton Identity.

“Iris recognition is most reliable form of biometric identification, and the Access500e turns what used to be a slow process for travellers into a convenient, quick and more secure experience.”

The Emirates Airlines terminals are the largest terminals within DBX. The airport saw nearly 14.9 million international visitors in 2016, and is expected to surpass 20 million visitors by 2020.

“DXB has always set a high bar in terms of innovative and future-forward experiences and we applaud the leadership team’s decision to tap the power of iris recognition to further enhance both traveler satisfaction and security,” added Clifton.

Dubai is seemingly getting ahead of the game when it comes to seamless travel. In October, Dubai Airport unveiled an upcoming innovation at Gitex Technology Week. A tunnel, equipped with more than 80 cameras and biometric technology, will replace the established border gates in Terminal 3 this summer.  It scans the faces of travellers over a relatively short space, taking in their retinas and distinctive features as they move. And the walls of this tunnel will display a virtual aquarium.

source : https://tinyurl.com/y73v3dff

 

Digital identity for secure and seamless travel

Karima Kouidri

The Known Traveller: Unlocking the potential of digital identity for secure and seamless travel

Is a Known Traveller Digital Identity the disruptive innovation the global travel security ecosystem needs?

The cross-border movement of legitimate travellers has for decades enabled and sustained international trade, tourism-driven economic growth and increased tolerance across cultural and social divides. However, the travel system is under pressure from the growing number of travellers, infrastructure capacity limits and ever-increasing risk and security requirements. In particular, efforts to address increasing cyber and physical risks to national security can have adverse effects on the benefits of international travel.

This report, co-published by the World Economic Forum and Accenture, highlights the opportunities made possible through advances in emerging technologies like biometrics, cryptography and distributed ledgers to advance security capabilities of industry and governmental agencies while improving passenger facilitation in international travel. Importantly, it recommends a paradigm shift to an interoperable digital identity system that prioritises traveller-centricity, upholds privacy by design, and enables the trustful cooperation between international public and private sector partners required for ensuring the safe and secure movement of people across borders.

Download PDF here : https://tinyurl.com/y776vp38

 

Six must-have capabilities to improve passenger experience

Karima Kouidri

How much do you really know about your passengers and their journey through your airport?

Crowded terminals and runways, longer queues and wait times and more frustrated passengers who spend less money while at the airport have become the norm. As air traffic increases, airports that lack the funding and/or space to expand their facilities must find new ways to minimize disruptions and deliver exceptional service to passengers and airlines alike – or risk losing market share.
Next generation airports are getting ahead of these issues with a strategic approach called Total Airport Management (TAM). By using real-time data from a variety of sources and applying innovative data management, planning and forecasting tools, airport operators and stakeholders are detecting, and even predicting, passenger needs hours in advance—and working together to deal with emerging situations before they become problems.

source : https://tinyurl.com/yamleu2k

 

A new travel experience is music to our ears

Karima Kouidri

IATA and ACI’s New Experience in Travel and Technologies (NEXTT) program

has set its sights on ‘off-airport activities, advanced processing technology, and interactive decision-making’. One of the program’s stated goals is to guide investments that will drive new ways of doing business, as the air transport industry grapples with continuous growth and ever bigger airports of the future.

This is music to the ears of anyone at SITA. Our aim has always been to bring about the improvement of aviation processes and practices through technology. We have long worked with the industry’s bodies to help to deliver strategic community initiatives, such as Simplifying the Business, Fast Travel, Smart Security and Resolution 753.

In fact, our self-service capabilities have played a huge part in such programs and are now embedded in the journey, from booking and check-in to bag drop, boarding and border control – and, more recently, biometric-enabled self-service.

Transformative tech

The transformative technologies and focus areas explicitly cited by NEXTT – including tracking and identity management, automation and robotics, better use of data, predictive modeling and artificial intelligence (AI) – are high on SITA’s agenda, as we explore areas that will deliver digital transformation for the industry.

Going hand-in-hand with that ‘digitization’ is data. If, as an industry, we can successfully collect, crunch and securely share the vast amounts of data we generate, then we can exploit the huge potential that exists to deliver a new travel experience.

SITA’s role in all of this is unique. We’re deeply involved in digitizing the air transport industry’s ecosystem, working with airline and airport customers, as well as governments, ground handlers and other players. And we’ve been bridging and sharing air transport data as part of our DNA for nearly 70 years, since SITA was created to provide the first network for airlines to share data.

‘The stars are aligned’

Looking ahead to the travel experiences of the future, I and my SITA colleagues see an ‘alignment of the stars’, as borne out in SITA’s 2017 Airport Transport IT Trends Insights report. It tells us that airports and airlines are planning major projects in areas such as identity management and tracking, the Internet of Things, AI, cognitive computing, robotics and machine learning.

SITA’s remit is to help the community embrace these technologies and trends, as was the case with our biometric boarding trial with JetBlue and the US Customs and Border Protection, as well as our biometric identity projects at Doha and Brisbane Airports which engaged both the airlines and the government. As investments in new technologies are made, we’ll continue to collaborate and co-innovate with the industry and our customers to deliver the new travel experience.

source : https://tinyurl.com/ybbpavt2

 

Intelligent airports

Karima Kouidri

Providing stakeholder co-operation and collaboration

Enterprises are shifting towards connected platforms, where people, processes and ‘things’ can connect and collaborate, airports included. The complicated community of stakeholders – airport operators, airlines, groundhandlers, passengers, authorities and regulators – can all benefit from removing the barriers to information flow.

Airports can manage passenger movement, optimise operations and implement better emergency communications.

Airlines can provide a hassle-free customer experience by relying on infrastructure such as beacons for automated notifications.

Passengers can get real-time updates about estimated waiting time at security lines, locations of specific airline check-in counters, gates or baggage belts.

And retail concessions and restaurants can use location-based services to promote offers, which will lead to increased interaction with passengers and a subsequent increase in revenue.

Critical passenger or situational information can be shared directly between relevant parties in real-time – getting the right information to the right people, exactly when it is needed.

Open APIs – the key to connecting people with processes

For this to happen, systems need to be de-siloed and communication tools, such as instant messaging, voice, document sharing, video and alerts, need to be integrated directly into applications and systems.

This is possible with open APIs beginning to come from some of the world’s leading communications vendors – giving technology partners and third-party providers the opportunity to make communication and collaboration tools a central feature of digital airport services, not a disconnected afterthought.

With open APIs in cloud-based communication platforms, developers can add real-time communication features in their own applications without needing to build or extend backend infrastructure and interfaces.

Open APIs allow for the integration with current in-house and third-party apps, providing a separate and secure environment – allowing multiple users to access the platform at the same time.

These ‘open’ platforms enable developers to extend these connections to stand-alone infrastructures, opening the door to new working models based with innovations such as IoT, AI and task-automating bots.

Having open APIs behind communications platforms can also allow airport operators and passengers to benefit from proactive notification services which incorporate security devices, operational equipment and even fire safety alarms into one connected communications platform – with the goal of increasing safety, avoiding production downtimes and securing buildings.

Intelligent airports – not just a vision, but a reality

To meet these challenges, airports need innovative solutions and infrastructure must be used more intelligently.

Airports need to use technology to make the most of their budget and resources, to manage rising volumes of travellers, meet the increasing demands of tech-savvy passengers and commercial tenants.

The need for real-time information exchange will see airports adopt new technologies for a free-flow of communication.

Innovations that integrate smart devices and share information at every point of a passenger’s journey, and enable greater communication between civil aviation stakeholders, will play a vital role.

But rolling out the right infrastructure needs careful planning, an eye on future developments and a security-first approach – from customer-facing services, right down to the hardware.

The intelligent airport is more than a vision, it’s a must have. With the right infrastructure, it has the potential to become a global reality.

About the author

Kelly Allen is director of transportation in Europe north for communications and networking provider, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise (ALE).

source : https://tinyurl.com/ya4g2mju

 

Birmingham Airport Invests in Passenger Experience

Karima Kouidri

(Photo: Birmingham Airport)

Birmingham Airport has started a multi-million-pound programme of development works to improve the passenger journey through the airport terminal.

The works include redeveloping the security processing area to provide more boarding card gates, a dedicated security preparation area and a refreshed waiting area with new flooring and lighting.

Commenting on the investment, David Winstanley, COO for Birmingham Airport, said: “This investment follows record passenger growth and to ensure that we’re prepared for the coming summer period, when the airport will welcome new long-haul services to New York, Boston and Toronto, as well as many new popular short-haul destinations.

“The service we give our customers is an absolute priority for us so we’re investing a great deal to improve the airport journey.”

The airport is also developing its retail and catering offer, with the recent opening of The Factory restaurant and the arrival of Kurt Geiger to its airside shopping experience.

Later this spring, a new Bottega prosecco bar will open as well as wrapchic – an Indian inspired burrito and sandwich outlet.

A covered walkway to the terminal is also under construction for those who choose to walk to the terminal from the free drop off car park, and a new 178-guestroom Hilton Garden Inn hotel will open in the summer.

New digital wayfinding and signage will be introduced before the summer season.

The airport adds that additional staff are being recruited in key customer facing areas, including terminal operations, customer relations and security officers.

source : https://tinyurl.com/yc4tfvpj

 

Geneva Airport’s innovation department reveals latest plans

Karima Kouidri

Chatbots, MVPs and startups ­– Geneva Airport’s innovation department reveals latest plans

FTE Founder Daniel Coleman met with Geneva Airport’s Hamidul Huq, Innovation Project Manager, and Gilles Brentini, IT – Airport Innovation Manager, to find out how they plan to improve the passenger experience and operational efficiency. 

Geneva Airport has an impressive track record when it comes to trialling and adopting new and emerging technologies, and the innovation department has big plans in place for 2018.

In the past, the airport has been a leading implementation site for things like self-service processing, home-printed bag tags and even passenger-facing robots. Today, technological innovation remains at the centre of its strategy to improve the passenger experience and operational efficiency.

As Gilles Brentini, IT – Airport Innovation Manager, and Hamidul Huq, Innovation Project Manager, explained to FTE during a recent visit to Geneva, an artificial intelligence chatbot, which is currently in beta, will soon be launched on the Facebook Messenger platform. Brentini explained that the chatbot will help to bring the right information to passengers when they need it and can help to “bridge the gap between the airline experience and the airport experience” in the future.

Another project that the innovation department is focusing on is called GVA Welcome. Huq explained that the idea behind this is to “create a better experience between the people who arrive at the airport and the people who are waiting for them at the airport”. Having already created a minimum viable product (MVP) in late-2017, they are now working on integrating it with the Geneva Airport app.

Brentini, Huq and their colleagues also have a keen interest in the startup scene and they are utilising their connections in Geneva to identify startups that can potentially support their innovation efforts. In fact, following last year’s Recoding Aviation hackathon, Geneva Airport – alongside Copenhagen Airport, Swedavia and Schiphol – have been incubating two startups. “We are open to working with more (startups) and receiving more ideas,” Brentini stated.

Creating business cases for blockchain and robots

Other technologies that are towards the top of their watch list are blockchain and robotics. Geneva Airport, in collaboration with British Airways, Heathrow Airport, Miami International Airport and SITA Lab, recently took part in the FlightChain research project, which explored if and how blockchain can help to create a “single source of truth”.

When quizzed about the potential of blockchain technology, Brentini told FTE: “Blockchain is obviously very hot at the moment and in Geneva there are several initiatives to develop blockchain projects; there is real belief that it’s going to bring value to the market. I’ve seen a few very interesting projects and I think the airport is a good candidate because there are multiple partners and blockchain is very interesting when you’ve got various partners working on the same subject, which also requires trust and confidence.”

Referring to the FlightChain project, he described it as Geneva Airport’s “first step into blockchain” and added: “It’s a good initiative to put people together in the airport world. That’s definitely something that we need to do more, and it’s the best way to deliver more innovative use cases.”

Geneva Airport has a strong track record when it comes to trialling robots. Among those that have already been trialled is “Leo” the baggage robot.

As for robotics, the innovation department is “still experimenting to find the right use cases”, but Brentini and Huq see lots of potential. “Robbi” the autonomous information robot was trialled back in 2013 to guide passengers to points of interest such as services and shops. It inspired Sita’s “Leo” the baggage robot that was trialled in 2016, while “KATE” the autonomous check-in kiosk is the latest robot to be spotted at Geneva Airport. The three robots have been using the same Swiss navigation technology.

While it is still relatively early days for robots in the airport environment, Brentini said he believes passengers are open to interacting with those that can offer value. “It’s still pretty early to have robots in an environment like an airport but it’s definitely going to move very fast and we want to be ready for that. That’s why we’re experimenting with these use cases,” he said. Other potential use cases, he added, are using robots to deliver products to the gate and to support language translation.

The key to a more widespread rollout, though, is proving the financial business case. “It’s a question of being able to spread the service with more than one robot,” Brentini continued. “You have to maintain the robot and you have to find the right people to do it. As soon as you have 10 or 12 robots there is a good reason to have a team that can do that, but we need to get the price down in order to justify having more than one robot.”

Wish list: E-tags, security advancements and mobile biometric enrolment

While Geneva Airport’s innovation department is working hard to uncover fresh use cases for a variety of new technologies, they are also hoping that the wider industry can deliver improvements in some other areas.

For example, Brentini stated that he hopes to see a viable permanent electronic bag tag so the airport can move more of the check-in process offsite; he would like to see technology delivered that allows passengers to keep their laptops in their bags at the security checkpoint; and he is keen to see registration for biometric-enabled processing enabled on smartphones, so passengers can arrive at the airport already registered for their biometric token.

Rather than sitting back and waiting for these products to be delivered, Brentini, Huq and their colleagues will continue to innovate to establish how technology can improve the passenger experience and deliver operational benefits for Geneva Airport and all of its partners.

source : https://tinyurl.com/yc4bahtk

 

United Will Begin Giving Passengers Details About Why Their Flights Are Delayed

Karima Kouidri

United Airlines executives know few things frustrate customers as much as not knowing why their flights are delayed, so starting Monday it plans to test a new system in Phoenix and Houston that’ll tell passengers far more about their late flight than they ever expected to learn.

It’s a program called, “Every Flight Has a Story,” designed to help the airline better communicate with passengers about delays. Between Monday and Feb. 16, customers delayed at least an hour in Phoenix and Houston will receive unusually detailed information via text, email and the airline’s mobile app telling them why United delayed their flight, according to information shared this week with flight attendants. Flight attendants will receive the information five minutes before customers through a push notification sent to their mobile devices, ensuring customers will not know more than they do.

United is trying the approach as it tests new ways to reduce traveler anxiety and stress. Often, the airline suspects, customers get nervous because they don’t know what’s happening, and they lack control. United usually gives passengers vague reasons for why their flight is late, such as “delayed due to aircraft maintenance.”

“We have situations where our customers are super-frustrated because we can’t tell them what’s going on — a maintenance delay, weather, or rolling delays,” Scott Kirby, United’s president, told employees at a town hall meeting last year in Los Angeles. “They’re frustrated with that, or they think we’re lying to them.”

A United spokesman did not reply to emails about the airline’s “Every Flight Tells a Story” trial. However, last year Kirby outlined the basics, giving an example of a brief test the airline tried at Newark.
That day, Kirby said, United delayed many Newark flights due to weather, even though the weather in the Northeast and the Midwest was “perfectly clear.” The problem was a line of thunderstorms in Virginia and the Carolinas. Planes coming from Florida needed to fly around the storms, and they landed late at Newark.
Usually, Kirby said, “we would just say weather delay, and people look out and say it’s perfectly clear here, it’s perfectly clear in Chicago, you’re lying.”
Instead, Kirby said United sent customers a picture of the thunderstorms, with a note saying, “…your plane is coming from Fort Lauderdale and it has to divert around this so it is going to be late getting here.”
It generally worked, Kirby said.
“No one likes a delay but at least they understand,” he said. “If we can tell people what’s going on, it will relieve so much stress and so much tension.”