SITA, NEC Join Forces On Contactless Biometric Airport Solution

“The companies explained that passengers will be able to establish a digital, mobile-based identity credential based on biometrics, and will use it to check in, check bags, make payments, and proceed through immigration and security.”

Two of the biggest players active in the airport biometrics sector have now joined forces. The partnership will seek to leverage NEC’s I:Delight identity management solution together with SITA’s Smart Path and SITA Flex solutions to facilitate an automated, contactless passenger journey.

Details of the collaboration are still to come, but in a statement announcing the partnership, NEC and SITA suggested that mobile devices will play a central role in their combined solution. The companies explained that passengers will be able to establish a digital, mobile-based identity credential based on biometrics, and will use it to check in, check bags, make payments, and proceed through immigration and security.

Facial recognition will be used at each step, all the way through to boarding, with touchpoints along the passenger journey automatically scanning passengers’ faces to identify them in a frictionless, contactless manner.

“Leveraging SITA’s common-use footprint in more than 460 airports globally and NEC’s award-winning identity management technology, we are well placed to help our customers deliver a truly unique and efficient experience in the airport, particularly during these challenging times where there is increased focus on the health and safety of passengers,” explained SITA CEO Barbara Dalibard.

The partnership’s announcement comes at a time of transformative change in the air travel sector, thanks in large part to the tremendous impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Air travel stakeholders are looking for innovative, contactless ways to process passengers and help mitigate the spread of the virus, and SITA and NEC both already have a proven track record with such solutions.

News of the partnership arrives soon after SITA’s announcement of two high-profile executive appointments that took effect on June 1, and on the heels of NEC’s announcement that it would provide biometric and temperature screening technology for multiple airports in Hawaii.

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July 21, 2020 – by Alex Perala