A woman tests Vueling’s new biometric identification system at El Prat Airport, January 19, 2023, in El Prat de Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
David Zorrakino | Europa Press | Getty Images
As end-of-summer travel lines return to TSA airport checkpoints in the US, one airport overseas is going all-in on a biometric passenger experience. The Smart Travel Project at Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi will include biometric sensors at every airport identification checkpoint by 2025.
Airport security and travel experts have generally cheered the move.
“They are boldly moving forward with adopting facial recognition as a means of letting travelers into their system, and I commend them for doing so,” said Sheldon Jacobson, a professor of engineering and computer science at the University of Illinois. Jacobson has been studying airport security since the 1990s and helped the TSA develop the pre-screening program, which allows some U.S. travelers to bypass checkpoints. “Facial recognition is the future, and we’re going to start being smart with airport security and focusing on the traveler and not the items they’re bringing. By doing that, you’re creating a different paradigm,” Jacobson said. “What they are doing in Abu Dhabi is just the beginning, but it has to start somewhere.”
Going completely paperless from the garage to the parking lot to the seatback table is troubling to some who wonder if a Crowdstrike-style outage could completely destroy boarding electronics and bring travel to a halt. But Jacobson says these are very rare events, and even if the system shuts down completely due to an outage, the net benefits of a biometric travel experience over time will outweigh the costs.
The Zayed International Airport program is based on collaboration with the government. The UAE Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security collects biometric data from every traveler arriving in the UAE for the first time. The airport then uses this database to verify passengers passing through checkpoints. The airport did not respond to a request for comment on its plans. Saeed Saif Al Khaili, Director General at the United Arab Emirates Federal Authority for Identity, Nationality, Customs and Port Security, he said in a recent press release that the Biometric Smart Travel project “aims to improve the travel experience at Zayed International Airport from curb to gate, ensuring high levels of safety and security.”
Jacobson says the TSA tends to move more slowly and incrementally on changes, and the UAE’s political system allows for faster implementation of programs, so this comprehensive collection of biometric data probably won’t fly in the US, at least not now. Whenever new biometric programs are introduced, he said, there is “huge pushback.”
However, the US public appears to be more comfortable with the use of biometrics at airports.
According to data analytics firm JD Power and Associates, a majority (53%) of respondents at major US airports say biometrics at airports is a good idea or are willing to use biometric security screening. An additional 12% say it’s a good idea, but have privacy concerns.
Among the concerns raised are what kind of data someone would have to provide during the biometric check-in process and whether biometric security procedures would be used to track movements throughout the airport or whether biometric data would be used outside the airport.
“To make the technology more widespread and allow airports and travelers to take advantage of it, airports need to establish clear guidelines and procedures and inform travelers of potential uses. Buy-in from travelers is essential,” says Mike Taylor , JD Power senior director of travel, hospitality and retail.
Shawn DuBravac, futurist and author of “Digital Destiny: How the New Age of Data Will Transform the Way We Work, Live, and Communicate,” said he believes biometrics will transform travel. “While we have seen increasing use of biometric sensors to streamline travel, the vision of a completely paperless experience by next year is incredibly ambitious,” he said.
Travel veterans generally agree that some aspect of biometrics will be involved in future airport visits, if they aren’t already. DuBravac sees biometrics at US airports being used as a tool to make the human element more responsive.
“Instead of managing simple tasks like document verification, staff can provide higher levels of customer service, assist travelers with special needs and ensure the overall passenger experience is efficient and welcoming. Automating routine processes will foster a more human experience,” he said. .
Billionaire Elon Musk praised Zayed’s innovation, commenting on X in response to a video showing a traveler checking in at Abu Dhabi airport that the US needs to “catch up.”
“Musk’s comments border on wishful thinking,” said Irina Zukerman, a national security lawyer and fellow at the Arabian Peninsula Institute. He noted that privacy and cost concerns will likely prevent the implementation of an entire biometric airport experience in the US
“This worked in Abu Dhabi because the UAE is a small, wealthy monarchy with a high degree of public trust in the government and sufficient resources to devote to technical innovation,” Zuckerman said. The same ingredients don’t apply in the US.
Despite Musk visiting US airports, it’s not like there isn’t a biometric presence in the United States.
In 2018, LAX became one of the first airports in the United States to pilot biometric boarding and is currently used as an option for eligible passengers.
“At LAX, we use biometrics to support our airline partners and federal authorities to expedite the boarding process for departing international flights,” said Ian Law, chief digital transformation officer, Los Angeles World Airports, which includes LAX . There are up to four biometric lanes at each international departure gate and facial recognition technology can be used for contactless, paperless traveler verification.
“Airlines are able to significantly reduce the time it takes to board a flight by reducing the amount of time they spend queuing,” Law said.
While no US airport is close to Abu Dhabi’s goal of a completely biometric airport, many airports in the United States use at least some biometrics. According to the TSA, the PreCheck option is currently available at more than 200 airports with more than 90 participating airlines nationwide and has a voluntary facial recognition component. To be approved for PreCheck, participants fill out an online form, pay a fee, undergo a background check, an in-person interview and can opt for a facial recognition scan.
Clear, a publicly traded company, has also broken into more than 55 U.S. airports, allowing those who pay a fee and undergo screening to skip lines and board biometrically. The service has made some lawmakers hesitant to create a tiered traveler system, and in California a group of lawmakers tried – but failed – earlier this year to limit Clear.
Travel technology provider Amadeus is not part of Abu Dhabi Airport’s biometric scheme, but has them at other airports including Dubai, Vancouver, Perth and London Heathrow. Chris Keller, vice president of airport and airlines at Amadeus, says that in the near future, airports will be able to implement paper backups if there is a technology problem. “We expect increasing numbers of passengers to use biometrics, but there will always be a group, perhaps those requiring special assistance or premium passengers, who will opt for an agent-assisted experience and prefer a paper document,” Keller said.
Jacobson says would-be criminals will be deterred by the fact that their faces will be known in an airport biometric system. “Once the person is known, it has a deterrent effect and reduces the risk,” he said. However, he also said that Musk’s comments lacked proper context. “It’s not that we’re behind, this is a gradual process of growth and development,” he said. “We won’t get there this week. It takes a lot of will and proof of concept.”
For example, when PreCheck in was launched in 2011, it took eight years from proposal to implementation.
“People are uncomfortable with change, whenever you make changes we need to make them more efficient, safer and less intrusive,” Jacobson said.
In the US, it will probably take a long time to get from check-in to the terminal to your plane seat, just to show your face.
