Biometric technology takes the role and benefits of passenger automation in airports that step further. With the innovations that are taking place now and in the future, passengers will be able to move through the airport with limited human contact using technology to create their own seamless journey at their own pace.
Building on the automated airport
Many airports already use automation to improve the experience of passengers and to gain the flexibility to scale up and down their activities in response to seasonal changes, passenger growth and any unforeseen circumstances. This technology can take the form of self check in, bag drop, CUPPS technology and much more.
The next stage in this automation is to introduce biometric technology, something that many airports are now implementing. According to SITA, biometric technology is one of the key enablers to delivering more automation as well as smoothly linking each step in the passenger journey. Research carried out by them has shown that over half of the industry’s IT leaders believe biometric travel tokens will be the key driver for the future passenger experience in the future.
What is biometric technology?
The all biometric airport sets out to match facial characteristics or other unique biological signifiers (such as fingerprints or irises) to passenger passports, with a matching process known as “Single Token Travel” or the ‘token travel’ as referenced above. That facial recognition is then used at each stage of the journey through the airport to improve security, ease congestion and provide efficiencies to all involved.
This includes:
- Checking in online using smartphones, scanning the passengers’ passport and face, to be matched to ePassport data.
- Biometric bag drop, saving time for passengers and providing a visual reference of who dropped which bag.
- eBoarding, using eGates to scan passengers before they board aircraft, reducing queues.
How can AiQ Consulting help you implement biometric technology?
77% of airports and 71% of airlines plan to invest heavily in biometrics identification in the next few years. Recent news articles have mentioned airports such as Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, Los Angeles Airport and others for Delta Airlines, London Heathrow and more, investing in such technology.
You need to be able to ensure that your airport can introduce the benefits of biometric technology without any disruption to your passengers. AiQ Consulting allows you to plan ahead with confidence. Our simulation and modelling tools and holistic airport approach can analyse every step of the passenger journey. By modeling clear scenario models around your biometric technology investment decisions, we accurately replicate your airport’s activity, show the impact of new technology, and run future scenarios to see how the change will affect airport capacity. This means that you can feel confident in your future plans and reduce any risk.
Our bespoke modelling and simulation software, TransvisionAiR® enables smart decision-making through a choice of outputs – spreadsheets, graphs, 2D and 3D animation, as well as virtual reality. This allows you to bring your data to life, test the effects of biometric technology, and gain unique insights across your operation.
If you would like to find out more about biometric technology, automation and how it could benefit your airport, contact us today .