New SITA Partnership Points Toward Biometric Passenger Processing

Malaysia may be next in line to get a biometric passenger processing system from SITA, with Malaysia Airports having just signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the company.

The partnership took shape around the 21st anniversary of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, during which the country’s Prime Minister toured the main terminal and saw a demonstration of biometric passenger processing technology. That came by way of SITA Smart Path, the facial recognition-based biometric passenger identification solution that can be used for everything from check-in to boarding.

The biometric system has not officially been deployed at KLIA, but rather was showcased as a kind of proof of concept. And that, together with the MOU, certainly suggests biometric passenger screening is on the horizon.

“We are honored to be a long-term strategic partner of Malaysia Airports, and pleased to showcase Smart Path and embark on a collaborative innovation initiative at KL International Airport,” commented SITA Asia Pacific President Sumesh Patel in a statement announcing the agreement. “We look forward to the next project with Malaysia Airports as we work together to constantly seek ways to enhance service levels and elevate the customer experience at the airport.”

The partnerships fits neatly in a larger trend as a growing number of airports, airlines, and border control authorities around the world look to biometric technologies – and particularly facial recognition – as a means of both making passenger flows more efficient and improving security.

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August 22, 2019 – by Alex Perala