Italy’s Milano Linate is the latest European airport to harness biometric technology with the debut of FaceBoarding, meaning passports could become redundant.

“Nice to recognise you”… Milano Linate airport has introduced FaceBoarding, a facial recognition system that simplifies the security control and boarding procedures for passengers.

The new service offers a high-tech alternative to the traditional method of presenting passports, electronic identity cards and boarding passes at various checkpoints throughout the airport and is open to all adult passengers who possess an electronic document.

To sign up for FaceBoarding, passengers must register as soon as they receive their boarding pass, starting one week before the flight and up to 30 minutes before the scheduled departure.

Passengers who do not yet possess their boarding pass can pre-register for the service by registering their identity document and face, and then complete the registration process by associating their boarding pass later.

The airport is also working on a mobile app for both Android and iOS devices, which will soon allow passengers to register for the service via their smartphones.

How does it work? Dedicated registration kiosks at the airport welcome passengers upon completion of their online or airport check-in and, if necessary, checking in their baggage.

Next up, passengers must consent to having their personal data processed, before their boarding pass or electronic document is scanned and an image of their face is captured.

Once registered, FaceBoarding passengers can access the security filters through dedicated turnstiles, with one biometric gate available for Fast Track passengers and two for all other passengers.

If the passenger’s airline has joined the FaceBoarding service, passengers can also pass through the boarding gates using the dedicated lane.

Passengers can choose to register for the service for a single flight or for the entire programme, which is valid until December 31 2025 for those who join before that date, or until December 31 of the year in which they register if joining after December 31 2025.

As reported by Globetrender, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) projects eight billion passengers will be travelling by air by 2040 and biometric tech will prove vital in supporting this capacity.

Some countries are already well ahead of the game. In China, 86 per cent of the country’s international airports already use biometric tech. Beijing Capital International Airport lets travellers use their faces at every step of their trip, including checking out at duty-free stores, reports the Hustle, while Singapore’s Changi Airport is going passport-free for all departures.

Germany’s Frankfurt airport lets passengers use their faces for the entire travel process.

by Olivia Palamountain | GLOBETRENDER