Travelers will be identified by facial recognition >>
by: Harvey Chipkin
United Airlines and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) have become the first in the US to conduct a trial of a low-touch, biometric-enabled airport experience from check-in to boarding for domestic travelers on select flights. Using SITA Smart Path (SITA is an air transport technology company), participating passengers can link their driver’s license to their facial biometric at check-in. They can then move through the airport, from check-in to bag drop, security and boarding simply by scanning their face at each touchpoint. In 2020, over half of all international flights at SFO were boarded using biometrics. Now the airport and United are extending that experience to domestic passengers on select flights at SFO across multiple steps in the journey. Lori Augustine, United’s vice president of airport operations at SFO, said the carrier has been a leader in providing a touchless experience for customers —from its longtime and ongoing partnership with CLEAR (a biometrics provider), to being the first airline to implement touchless kiosks in check-in lobbies. She said United is looking forward to participating in this trial with SITA and exploring new technology “that will help inform our biometric offerings in the future, as well as offer our domestic customers a frictionless experience as they travel through SFO.”
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