Brazil Launches Biometric Boarding Program With IDEMIA Tech

The Federal Government of Brazil will be trialling a fully digital, face-based boarding program at the Santos Dumont airport in Rio de Janeiro. The Embarque + Seguro project was put together by the country’s Ministry of Infrastructure, in collaboration with the federal information technology company Serpro.

To take advantage of the new service, passengers will first need to pause for a photo when they check in at the airport. That photo will then be compared to an image in a government database, allowing the airport to link the person’s face to their Brazilian CPF number and their travel documents. After that, they will no longer need to present those documents (either their passport or their boarding pass) as they move through the airport. They will instead be able to enter lounges and board their plane with only a facial recognition scan.

The opt-in biometric boarding program requires the consent of the passenger, and will initially only be offered to customers flying with Azul airlines. However, the technology will be installed at other airports assuming all goes well. The Santos Dumont deployment comes in the wake of a prior paperless boarding pilot at the Florianópolis and Salvador airports in 2020.

The facial recognition terminals being used in the trial feature technology from IDEMIA, Digicon, and Azul/Pacer. The Federal Government is hoping that the Embarque + Seguro program will enable a contactless travel experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, and minimize wait times at security checkpoints.

“With biometric boarding, travelers will be able to enjoy a more peaceful experience at the airport, while having total control of biometrics at each stage of the trip,” said IDEMIA Sales Director Márcio Lambert. “Our solutions adopt simple, secure and economical approaches, without ever putting data security at risk.”

The Brazil deployment reflects IDEMIA’s growing interest in the travel industry. The company released a new TravelKiosk in October, and has since agreed to install the border screening technology in Iceland and France. The company has also released a Digital Travel Credential to help speed up passenger processing procedures.

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March 17, 2021 – by Eric Weiss