LAX-Heathrow Biometric Boarding System Now In Operation

“While the system is meant to improve the passenger experience and reduce processing times, it’s also designed for compliance with the US Customs and Border Protection agency’s biometric exit program…”

The biometric boarding system at Los Angeles Airport is now operational.

First announced in December, the system builds on technology deployed at the UK’s Heathrow Airport last year, and indeed at LAX it’s being used to process British Airways passengers en route to London. Using Vision-Box technology, the system allows passengers to confirm their identities with an automated face scan, effectively replacing their boarding passes with face biometrics.

While the system is meant to improve the passenger experience and reduce processing times, it’s also designed for compliance with the US Customs and Border Protection agency’s biometric exit program, which is very much a work in progress as the CBP expands its biometric screening trial programs across the country. Vision-Box says that the CBP has been working with LAX’s Information Management and Technology Group to ensure that passenger photos are matched against CBP databases.

The biometric gates are now operational at three gates in the Tom Bradley International Terminal, with passengers being scanned for two nightly departure flights. In a statement, Vision-Box asserted that “additional airlines are making plans to test the technology as well.”

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January 19, 2018 – by Alex Perala