By 2025, 69% of airports plan to use biometrics at security checkpoints. This shift toward biometric passenger processing will eventually enable a completely digital travel experience with your face acting as your passport.
Constantly evolving
In this recovery period following the initial passenger downturn caused by the pandemic, a new chapter of air travel has emerged, and carriers are responding swiftly to the changes. All in all, they are adapting by being flexible with their services. Streamlining processes is key to this initiative.
Notably, there has been a shift of IT spending over the past year, away from running the operation to transforming the business. This move confirms that carriers are concentrating on investing in new digital technologies to tackle the challenges of the future.
SITA, the leading IT provider to the air transport market, explains:
“As overall IT budgets see a quicker than anticipated recovery among airlines, change is very much on the cards. We are now set to see a higher budget on technology for 2022, with IT spend reaching 4.73% of revenue, compared to 4.66% in 2021. As part of this investment growth, airline priorities are placed firmly on improving passenger mobile services, strengthening cybersecurity, and improving cloud services capabilities.”
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Significant investment
Over 90% of airlines are planning major programs or investing in research and development in the following fields by 2025.
- Cybersecurity
- Mobile applications for passenger services
- IT service management enhancement
- Cloud services
- Disruption warning system
- In-house virtual and remote IT services
Moreover, the majority of airlines are investing in the following:
- Business intelligence software
- Data exchange technology (XML)
- Artificial intelligence (AI)
- RFID
- Near Field Communications
- Mixed reality
These motives will combine effectively with ongoing investment in biometric technology to automate passenger identity management. SITA notes that operators are continuing to invest in and trial biometric solutions.
In practice, 78% of airlines will have implemented or planned passenger ID management solutions for staff checking & scanning ID documentation by 2025. Additionally, 76% would have done the same for self-boarding gates using biometric & ID documentation. The figure is 51% when it comes to self-boarding gates using biometrics only, highlighting the increasing confidence to fully automate passenger processes via biometrics.
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A new era
Thus, this trust in biometrics will naturally give way to a future of fully digital passports. We’ve already seen how entire Airbus A380s can be boarded within 20 minutes thanks to biometric boarding. These benefits will help catalyze the desire to do the same for security checkpoints.
Rather than having someone manually check a physical passport and holding up queues, a passenger would just walk through a biometric corridor and pass through after their face is scanned and verified. Beforehand, passengers would be pre-cleared after inputting their details digitally on a secure platform, much like an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) program. They may even be converged with these existing systems.
Still, it’s not all about speed. Airlines, governments, and airports would be determined to match passport control processing with other digital security initiatives in place, avoiding human error and potential breaches. While there will be certain exceptions in some regions and for some passenger segments, we are transitioning to this digital ecosystem.
During a press meeting attended by Simple Flying in London, Jeremy Springall, SVP, SITA AT BORDERS, and Peter Drummond, VP, Airport Operations Systems, SITA, explained to Simple Flying that while we may still need to carry a physical passport over the next 10-15 years, we are increasingly moving toward a digital version. It will be at least 30 years before we will stop having to carry a physical passport and can solely rely on the digital format.
SITA concludes that digital travel will allow your face to be your boarding pass and passport, enabling a safe, secure, and stress-free journey with fewer queues and seamless entry.
What are your thoughts about the future of passports? What do you make of the overall digitization of passport control? Let us know what you think of the prospects in the comment section.