Why Biometrics Are Welcomed By Passengers And Airlines Worldwide

For years, as biometrics technology continued to improve, there was a debate in commercial aviation circles about whether passengers would be willing to use facial recognition and other such identifiers to pass through terminal touchpoints and security checkpoints.

Biometrics are now being rolled out in airports around the globe—with the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) deploying facial recognition in the US, and airports in Asia, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and the Middle East all starting to use biometrics for a range of terminal touchpoints. The answer to whether passengers would be accepting appears to be an emphatic “yes.”

The increase in efficiency, combined with assurances from authorities that the new identity methods buttress security, have led to an apparently fast acceptance of biometrics across regions and cultures.

“Our passengers are experiencing unprecedented efficiency with biometric touchpoints … from self-service touchpoints at check-in and bag drop to immigration and boarding gates,” Etihad Airways chief operations and guest officer John Wright told ATW. The Abu Dhabi-based carrier has teamed with Zayed International Airport (AUH) and the Abu Dhabi Airport Authority to deploy widespread use of biometrics at its home hub.

Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) on Sept. 30 fully implemented passport-less clearance across all four of its terminals for Singapore citizens, permanent residents and departing visitors, who can use biometric identifiers instead of physical documents to pass through immigration.

The European Union (EU) ultimately will start requiring that all non-EU passengers hand over fingerprint and facial recognition identifiers to enter the Schengen area (although roll out of the program has met several delays.) It is expected that not all EU countries will be ready to implement it initially, though all EU countries—except Cyprus and Ireland, which are not part of the Schengen area—are mandated to adopt it.

The personal data collected in the EU’s new Entry-Exit System (EES) will be kept for three years and be used to track entrances and exits and length of stays.

Passengers in US airports, meanwhile, are using TSA facial recognition to confirm their identities at security checkpoints, though that information is not saved, according to the agency. “Facial recognition technology is designed to reduce officer fatigue and increase facial matching accuracy compared to human performance,” a TSA spokesperson said in response to inquiries from ATW.

STRONG SUPPORT

A survey by the US Travel Association, in conjunction with public opinion specialist Ipsos Poll, provides striking evidence of acceptance of biometrics by US passengers, with high approval for TSA’s use of facial recognition.

“Travelers strongly support the Transportation Security Administration’s use of biometrics at airport checkpoints with privacy ranking very low on their list of concerns when flying,” the organization reported when releasing the survey results in September, which showed that 78% of US passengers approve of TSA’s tactics. “There is overwhelming support for TSA’s use of biometrics when travelers understand how and why biometrics are used to enhance security, improve efficiency and protect privacy. Americans trust TSA more than other government agencies and private sector entities with their biometric data.

“Nine in 10 air travelers say they would be more likely or equally likely to support biometric use at TSA security checkpoints if it reduced the typical time it takes them to get through security by five to 15 minutes,” the Travel Association reported.

The TSA facial recognition system replaces an officer looking at and comparing a passenger’s ID and face to confirm identity. There is an opt-out allowed, with signs informing passengers of the option prominently posted at checkpoints, but the agency said most passengers are accepting facial recognition.

“Before presenting identification credentials, the traveler notifies the officer that they don’t want a picture taken,” the TSA spokesperson said, explaining the opt-out. “The TSA officer turns the camera off with a touch of the screen. TSA does not track photo opt-out data. We only have anecdotal information from airport-based employees that most travelers use the technology when it’s available to them.”

Etihad’s Wright said the new biometrics system rolled out this year in Abu Dhabi—which goes well beyond security to a range of airport touchpoints at AUH—has been “transformative” for the airline’s passengers, “who can now complete their entire journey from curb to gate in just 12 minutes. The biometric technology has dramatically reduced processing times at key touchpoints, delivering a much smoother experience for our passengers.”

The Singapore Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said passport-less clearance at Changi has cut passenger processing time down to 10 seconds.

TSA said utilizing facial recognition means security officers “do not have to spend time inspecting physical documents to ensure their authenticity.”

SECURITY, EFFICIENCY, STAFFING

Three factors are driving the increasing deployment of biometrics at airports. First, it is believed to be a security enhancement. The TSA, for example, noted it is not possible to counterfeit a face to match a fake identity.

An EU summary of EES cited a number of security reasons for implementing the system, including preventing “irregular immigration,” identifying “travelers who have no right to enter or who have exceeded their permitted stay,” identifying passengers “who are using fake identities,” and helping to “prevent, detect and investigate terrorist offenses and other serious crimes.”

Europol can “access your data for law enforcement purposes,” the EU stated, adding that “under strict conditions, your data may be transferred to another country (inside or outside the EU) or international organization—a UN organization, the International Organization for Migration or the International Committee of the Red Cross—for return and/or law enforcement purposes.”

Passengers with passports from EU countries will be exempted from EES. A September EU statement was unambiguous to visitors to Europe thinking of opting out: “If you refuse to provide your biometric data, you will be denied entry into the territory of the European countries using the EES.”

The second factor is increased efficiency. Reducing customs clearance time at Changi adds up for an airport that handled 16.8 million passengers in the 2024 third quarter. Passengers move through airports faster, providing more time to frequent concessionaires. If advances in processing are made throughout terminals, cutting down overall curb-to-gate time, an airport can increase capacity without any physical additions.

And moving through the airport faster is welcomed by passengers. “Our frequent flyers especially appreciate the self-service options and drastically reduced processing times,” Wright said. “The automated bag drop using facial recognition has also been very well received.”

Etihad and AUH do allow opt-outs. “We maintain traditional check-in options for those who prefer them, but we’re seeing increasing numbers of passengers embracing the biometric journey,” Wright added.

Third, there simply will not be enough human security screeners to allow for the high levels of traffic growth airlines and airports are expecting. When Josephine Teo, Singapore’s Second Minister for Home Affairs, announced the new biometrics customs clearance process to the country’s parliament last year, she pointed to workforce challenges.

She noted “traveler volume has continued to rise across all our checkpoints,” adding, “Our immigration systems must be able to manage this high and growing volume of travelers efficiently and provide a positive clearance experience, while ensuring our security.”

Singapore, she explained, has an “aging population and shrinking workforce,” meaning ICA “will have to cope without a significant increase in manpower.”