United States. American Airlines has begun using facial recognition technology on passengers at boarding gates, part of a growing industry trend that airlines and airports say will make travel faster and safer.
American is using the technology at Dallas/Forth Worth International Airport in Texas, where passengers can scan their face instead of using their boarding pass to board the plane, local news station CBS 11 News reported.
However, passengers still need their boarding pass and an ID, such as their passport, to pass airport security. Currently, the technology is only optional and passengers can use their IDs, American said.
American Airlines Facial Recognition
For now it's only being used in the airport's Terminal D, which is used for international flights, but American said it plans to expand the technology to 75 different international boarding gates through its terminals.
Brandon Duggins, American's senior manager for international operations at the airport, told CBS 11 News that "most travelers are really excited about it. It's a new technology."
In a statement, the airline called the technology "additional convenience during the departure process."
Anticipating concerns about data privacy, American said it doesn't keep images of faces: "Customer biometrics will never be stored." He said the scanned images are sent to a cloud-based database used by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
According to the Washington Post, a growing number of airports and airlines are adopting facial recognition systems, with 14 airports using the technology as of August 2018.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the technology will eventually be expanded to all U.S. airports that fly internationally.
American Airlines previously tested facial recognition at Los Angeles' LAX Airport in late 2018, and the airline said it will "continue to evaluate the program and its potential expansion to more locations and flights through its global network."
Source: Business Insider.
