Boarding passes to be 'scrapped' with new UN air travel rules
Passengers will use face scanning tech and checking in for a flight might be a thing of the past
The way that many of us fly to and from our holidays could drastically change. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the UN body responsible for crafting airline policy, plans to dramatically shake up existing rules for airports and airlines through the introduction of a "digital travel credential".
A report in The Times detailed what could be the biggest changes to the aviation industry in five decades including instead of a boarding pass, face scanning technology will be used. And with no check-in, which is often done online before leaving home these days but can also be done in person at the airport, airlines will be updated on passengers' bookings and movements when they arrive at the airport and their face is scanned. . Read the biggest stories in Wales first by signing up to our daily newsletter here.
New technology developments will see a "journey pass" downloaded to the wallet on their phone, which will contain all the booking details, including any extras such as car hire that was bought with the flight. Also stored in the wallet will be biometric passport details.
Valérie Viale, director of product management at Amadeus, the world’s largest travel technology company, told The Times: "These changes are the biggest in 50 years. Many airline systems haven’t changed for more than 50 years because everything has to be consistent across the industry and interoperable. The last upgrade of great scale was the adoption of e-ticketing in the early 2000s. The industry has now decided it’s time to upgrade to modern systems that are more like what Amazon would use."
The plans will require physical infrastructure at airports to be upgraded so they have facial recognition technology and the ability to read a passport from a mobile device. The physical infrastructure will only verify the information, matching face to passport and not store it, to remove the risk of data breaches.
Those travelling with just hand luggage will first be scanned at the pre-security gates, which permit passengers access to the airport’s central search area. For passengers with hold luggage, this will be at bag drop. Currently, passengers must check-in online or at the airport on arrival, where they are issued with a boarding pass with a barcode which is scanned as a passenger proceeds through the airport, including at the gate before boarding.
Together with the use of facial recognition, passengers will be able to move through the airport without taking their phones or passports out of their pockets. Aware of the privacy risk Amadeus said it developed a system in which a passenger’s details are wiped within 15 seconds of each contact with a "touchpoint", such as the pre-security gates.
British Airways, Air France-KLM, Finnair and Saudia Airlines are understood to be examining the technology for their passengers. British Airways told the Times its "suite of digital experience tools" would allow it to "anticipate the needs of modern, digital travellers, providing them with exceptional experiences across their journey".