American Airlines Uses Face Recognition for Biometric Boarding at Dallas Airport

American Airlines has introduced biometric boarding for passengers at Dallas/Forth Worth International Airport (DFW). The airline is using facial recognition to verify people’s identities, allowing them to step onto the plane without the need to scan a boarding pass at the gate.

At the moment, the program is only available in Terminal D, but will be expanded to roughly 75 gates spread across multiple DFW terminals before the end of the year. The feature is opt-in only, and those who use it will still need to show their boarding pass and ID at security checkpoints.

American Airlines stated that it will not be storing anyone’s biometric information on their own servers. However, the identity verification process will match people’s faces against a pre-existing Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) database.

“As [American Airline’s] largest hub, implementing new technology like biometric boarding gives us the opportunity to enhance the airport experience in partnership with CBP,” said American’s DFW Hub Operations VP Cedric Rockamore. “This new technology allows us to provide a more seamless and modern experience for both our customers and team members.”

American Airlines launched a facial recognition trial at LAX airport earlier this year, making it one of several airlines – including British Airlines, Norwegian Air, and Lufthansa – to trial biometric boarding at the Los Angeles hub. The carrier will look to expand the program to other airports if the Dallas trial goes well.

Sources: Business Insider, Future Travel Experience

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August 29, 2019 – by Eric Weiss

Like all biometrics solutions, face recognition technology measures and matches the unique characteristics for the purposes of identification or authentication. Often leveraging a digital or connected camera, facial recognition software can detect faces in images, quantify their features, and then match them against stored templates in a database.

Face scanning biometric tech is incredibly versatile and this is reflected in its wide range of potential applications. Learn more on FindBiometrics’ Facial Recognition page.