by Mary Schlangenstein
JetBlue Airways Corp. and Delta Air Lines Inc. will test facial- and
fingerprint-recognition technology at two U.S. airports to replace
boarding passes, building on industry efforts to increase security and
ease passage through airports.
The JetBlue program will start next
month on flights from Boston to Aruba’s Queen Beatrix International
Airport, the airline said in a statement
Wednesday. It will match passenger photos to their passport or visa
photos. Delta has been trying fingerprint identification in Washington
that may eventually replace boarding passes.
The testing
highlights efforts by carriers to speed customers through congested
airports while increasing security. Europe’s KLM airline in February
began using face-scanning technology for boarding at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. Delta this month said it would attempt a self-serve process for checking bags at one airport using facial recognition.
“We hope to learn how we can further reduce friction points
in the airport experience, with the boarding process being one of the
hardest to solve,” Joanna Geraghty, JetBlue’s executive vice president
for customer experience, said in the statement.
JetBlue passengers will be able to participate without enrolling or registering in advance.
A
custom-designed camera will take a photo and transmit it to U.S.
authorities to compare against databases of passport, visa and
immigration images. A display above the camera will notify travelers
when they can board. New York-based JetBlue is working with U.S. Customs
and Border Protection and SITA, an information-technology provider for
airlines. More
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