Perth Airport is set to become the first airport in Australia to offer an end-to-end biometric departure process, developed in partnership with Amadeus. The initiative will introduce 95 new self-service check-in kiosks and replace nearly 40 traditional counters with automated bag-drop units, enabling passengers on selected airlines to register their identity once and move through the airport journey using facial recognition.
Biometrics Across the Passenger Journey
The system is designed so that once travelers register their details at a kiosk, their identity can be verified at key points including bag drop, security, and boarding gates without the repeated need to show a passport or boarding pass. Scott Woodward, Chief Operating Officer at Perth Airport, explained the motivation for the rollout: “We know that passengers want their departure experience to be hassle free so by harnessing automation, these upgrades deliver a seamless experience for their journey.”
The project builds on Amadeus’s global experience with airport biometrics. In Norway, the state-owned operator Avinor is working with Amadeus to upgrade 43 airports with new infrastructure, including kiosks that can be enabled for biometric identity verification. In the United States, Houston Airports are implementing Amadeus Flow, a system that connects check-in, bag drop, and boarding through a single biometric profile.
Data Security and Industry Adoption
The biometric process at Perth Airport will rely on secure platform technology, with measures such as tokenization to create digital representations of passenger data. “Once that’s achieved, all it takes is a couple of seconds to perform a facial scan to validate the passenger at bag drop or boarding,” said Sarah Samuel, Senior Vice President of Airport and Airline Operations for Asia-Pacific at Amadeus. The system is being introduced with reference to Australia’s privacy standards, though full details on data retention and consent practices have not been disclosed.
The upgrades form part of a broader redevelopment of Perth’s international terminal, designed to accommodate growing passenger volumes and new airline services. The deployment reflects a wider industry trend as airports and airlines look to speed up processing while maintaining security. Similar approaches include Alaska Airlines’ optional biometric bag drop services at Seattle-Tacoma and Portland, alongside a range of pilot projects across the United States, Europe, and Asia.
Perth Airport’s implementation will initially be available to participating airlines and passengers who opt in, but the airport and Amadeus suggest it marks the beginning of a broader shift toward seamless biometric travel in Australia.
Sources: Passenger Terminal Today, Travel and Tour World, Australian Aviation
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By Cass Kennedy
