A former American Airlines and TSA executive has now joined CLEAR’s ranks: Howard Kass has been named the organization’s SVP of Corporate Affairs. Kass started working for US Airways in 2003, and was its VP of Legal and Government Affairs when it merged with American Airlines in 2013, at which time he became American Airlines’…
A newly opened concourse at Miami International Airport may represent the next phase in the US Customs and Border Protection agency’s expanding biometric border program. The Miami-Dade Aviation Department (MDAD) has announced that the airport’s Concourse E for international arrivals is the first airport concourse in the country to rely exclusively on expedited passport verification…
“The global footprint for biometric-based border automation is expanding as ABC eGates and APC Kiosks have become mainstream and air, land, and sea ports look to increase reliance on these highly successful traveler facilitation solutions.” – Maxine Most, Principal, Acuity Market Intelligence Acuity Market Intelligence is tracking the ascent of automated border control (ABC) and automated…
“Your face will be your passport and boarding pass, there will be no fumbling for passports,” Sydney Airport’s CEO Geoff Culbert said upon the announcement that Sydney Airport will be introducing a trail run of using facial recognition technology for check-in and boarding beginning in May 2018 at the largest Australian airport. Although one’s face-as-passport…
“News of these efforts comes after the Australian government contracted Portugal-based Vision-Box to provide biometric SmartGates for departures at the country’s international airports last summer.” Australia is on a path toward comprehensive biometric boarding at its airports. On the private sector side of things, Sydney Airport is preparing to trial a facial recognition system designed…
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is now piloting two new security screening technologies at the Los Angeles International Airport and the Tom Bradley International Terminal, one of which revolves around biometric identification. As with the handful of pilots being conducted by the US Customs and Border Protection agency, the TSA’s system is based on facial…
The Acting Commissioner of the US Customs and Border Protection agency has taken the opportunity of a concerned inquiry from two US senators to clarify the CBP’s actions with respect to biometric border screening. The letter, co-signed by Democrat Edward Markey and Republican Mike Lee, was framed as a request for further information as the…
SITA has won in Aviation Technology Achievement at the Air Transport World’s 2018 Annual Airline Industry Achievement Awards, in recognition of its work on a biometric boarding pilot project at the Boston Logan International Airport. The project was undertaken in collaboration with the US Customs and Border Protection agency and airline JetBlue, and was completed last…
The US Customs and Border Protection agency has held another meeting with privacy advocates concerning its Biometric Entry/Exit Program, the organization has announced. In a statement, the CBP did not name the privacy groups with which it met, explaining only that the meeting was led by CBP Office of Field Operation Deputy Executive Assistant Commissioner…
Malaysia-based airline AirAsia has launched a biometric boarding system based on facial recognition. The system has gone live at Senai International Airport, processing passengers for flights to and from Macau and Bangkok. Aptly named FACES, for “Fast Airport Clearance Experience System”, it essentially replaces passengers’ travel documents with biometrics. Travelers place their passports at an…
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport will become a testing ground for innovative technologies including biometric authentication systems, thanks to a new Transportation Security Administration designation: The TSA has named the airport an official Innovation Task Force (ITF) site. The TSA ITF’s goal is to improve security, efficiency, and the customer experience at airports, and that…
“As for airline partners, the latest additions bring the total number of participating airlines in TSA PreCheck to 47. “ The Transportation Security Administration has teamed up with five additional airline partners for its TSA PreCheck biometric expedited screening program. Air France, Brussels Airlines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Philippine Airlines, and World Atlantic have all…
Washington urged its partners to adopt biometric technologies in border screening at last week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. According to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen discussed the need for partner states to share passenger information as part of an effort to fight terrorism.…
Ferries del Caribe has become the first cruise line operator in the world to implement biometric border control kiosks onboard its ships. The deployments are the product of a collaboration with Vancouver International Airport’s (YVR) Innovative Travel Solutions (ITS), and the culmination of a five-month trial program initiated last year. The ‘BorderXpress’ kiosks are, in…
“The deployments come at a time of escalating activity in biometric border security around the world, with various governments looking to facial recognition in particular as a means of improving security while ensuring the quality of the traveler experience.” Tanzanian border authorities have implemented biometric border screening at two major airports using technology provided by…
Biometric border screening represents “the single biggest opportunity for the Travel & Tourism sector in 2018,” says World Travel & Tourism Council President Gloria Guevara Manzo. Her comments come ahead of the WTTC Global Summit in April, where the WTTC is likely to place a strong focus on biometric security for the travel industry. Speaking…
Canada and the Netherlands are about to test drive biometrics and blockchain for air travel as part of a larger initiative called Known Traveller. The announcement comes amid the World Economic Forum, and upon the launch of the Known Traveller Digital Identity prototype. The product of a wide-ranging collaboration between governments, international hotel chains and…
A recent academic paper that was highly critical of the use of facial recognition technology at airport departure gates prominently featured “factually incorrect and misleading statements”, argues a new analysis from the International Biometrics + Identity Association (IBIA). The IBIA assessed the Georgetown University Center on Privacy & Technology’s “Not Ready for Takeoff: Face Scans…
“…Princeton Identity says it has opened a new office in Dubai that will focus on supporting the work at DXB, while also serving as a hub for the company’s other regional offices in Africa and the Middle East.” Biometric technology from Princeton Identity is now helping to process travelers at the Dubai International Airport (DXB).…