Spirit Airlines Brings Biometric Bag Drop to LAX

Spirit Airlines continues to expand its biometric bag-drop system. The budget-friendly airline has now installed self-service kiosks at Los Angeles International Airport, and will be moving forward with a trial that will eventually eliminate the need for in-person interactions.

The Spirit bag-drop system utilizes biometric screening technology from Materna Intelligent Passenger Solutions North America. The kiosks are able to extract a facial image from a travel document like a passport, and match that image to a new photo of the person standing in front of the kiosk. The system confirms that the document is authentic, and that it belongs to the person who is checking in.

In doing so, the technology allows passengers to check in and drop their bags without needing to hand anything to a human agent. The LAX deployment will begin with a trial period in which Spirit will perform both manual and (opt-in) biometric checks, before phasing out the manual checks once airline administrators know that everything is running smoothly.

Spirit Airlines started rolling out the biometric bag drop tech in 2019, and already offers the service for domestic flights at airports in New York, Chicago, Dallas, and Atlanta. The company has reported that the average bag drop time for those using the system is only 70 seconds, a number that represents a 30 percent improvement over the usual time.

“Our guests are tech-savvy, and they appreciate options for controlling their travel journey,” said Spirit Airports & Crew Services VP Mike Byrom. “Another reason why the technology is advantageous for guests is that it complements our staffing and helps preserve the consistency of our service. We are on a mission to find innovative opportunities to continue improving every facet of the experience.”

Spirit currently runs 207 flights out of LAX every week, and checks an average of 2,700 bags at the airport on a daily basis. Materna has also delivered biometric bag-drop kiosks for Haneda International Airport in Tokyo.

Source: Simple Flying

June 6, 2022 – by Eric Weiss