SITA Finds Air Travelers Happier with Automated Passport Control

SITA has released the results of its 2019 Passenger IT Insights report, finding that air travelers are happier when they are able to use biometric technology to make their journey more convenient. That was particularly true for automated passport control. The usage rate for self-scanning passport stations more than doubled between 2017 and 2018, jumping from 21 percent to 44 percent of airline travelers.

The increased self check-in traffic also corresponded with a 3.85 percent increase in customer satisfaction, indicating that air travel is less of a hassle (and has shorter wait times) when people can scan their own documents instead of waiting for an agent.

“Where passengers use technology, the rate of satisfaction is higher,” said SITA Air Travel Solutions President Matthys Serfontein. “Airlines and airports can see the benefit of their technology investments in making it easy for passengers, every step of the way.”

The report goes on to suggest that passengers are likely to adopt other means of biometric verification as well, with more than 90 percent indicating that they would at least be open to the idea of using their mobile device for identity checks during travel. As a result, SITA argues that airports should continue to move towards automated security technology.

“Across the board we have found that passengers are keen to use the biometric self-service process,” concluded Serfontein. “When given a choice, over 90 percent of travelers typically opt in.”

SITA’s Passenger IT Insights report was co-sponsored by Air Transport World.  

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March 4, 2019 – by Eric Weiss