Biometrics on trial at LAX

American Airlines is trialling its first biometric boarding programme at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

Passengers departing LAX’s Terminal 4 will now use facial recognition technology that scans and verifies the identity with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the gate. When customers begin the boarding process, the facial recognition technology will scan an image of their face and send it to the CBP, who will then match it with the passport photo already on file with CBP. The programme will then send back a yes or no determination on whether the passenger is cleared to board.

Customers are given the option to choose whether they would prefer to use the old manual boarding pass system.

This programme has been launched as a 90-day pilot. Thereafter, American plans to roll out the programme to more flights and locations throughout its network. At the end of September, Delta Air Lines launched its biometrics programme at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. In October, Heathrow announced plans to implement a full-scale roll-out of biometric services beginning in 2019. Detroit Metropolitan and San Diego Airports have also gone biometric in the last few months.

source: T&M