Da Nang International Airport has opened a dedicated priority lane exclusively for passengers holding Level 2 VNeID electronic identification accounts, allowing travelers to complete check-in and security procedures using facial biometrics without presenting a physical citizen identity card. The lane, located on the second floor of the domestic departure terminal, opened today, and serves passengers on Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air flights.
Passengers using the lane stand in a marked area and look directly into a camera; the system performs facial recognition against the biometric data linked to their VNeID profile. The airport’s operator, ACV Da Nang, describes the facility as the first airport in Vietnam to provide fully automated passenger processing from check-in through boarding. The broader automated passenger journey encompasses auto gates, self-service bag drop, self-check-in kiosks, auto-boarding gates, and video call kiosks.
VNeID is Vietnam’s official digital identity platform, operated by the Ministry of Public Security through the National Population Data Center. Level 2 accounts require in-person biometric verification at police stations and carry the same legal standing as the physical Citizen Identity Card under Decree 59/2022/ND-CP. NEC’s Automated Biometric Identification System, combining fingerprint and face recognition, underpins the national identity database that VNeID draws on for more than 50 million citizens.
The dedicated lane builds on Da Nang Airport’s earlier full biometric check-in launch, creating a physically separate fast-track pathway for frequent flyers. Level 2 VNeID accounts have been accepted for domestic air travel since May 2023. The April 10 rollout follows the VNeID biometric check-in expansion across Vietnam’s airports mandated by Prime Minister Directive No. 24/CT-TTg, which made biometric verification the default at domestic airports from December 2025. Similar deployments have proceeded at other Vietnamese airports, including Con Dao Airport’s facial recognition system in August 2025.
Airport officials described the experience simply: “With just a smartphone, passengers can complete security checks and board planes without forgetting or losing documents.” ACV Da Nang is also working with AIAIVN on a multilingual chatbot supporting 50 languages as part of the airport’s ongoing digital service expansion.
The Da Nang priority lane advances Vietnam’s goal of 100 percent digital ID coverage by 2026, using high-traffic aviation checkpoints as operational proving grounds for VNeID in daily life.
Sources: VietnamNet, Vietnam+, Vietnam.vn
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By Ali Nassar-Smith
