“The program is aimed at biometrically tracking everyone who enters and leaves the United States.”
Orlando airport authorities are sticking with SITA as their key technology partner as they pursue a comprehensive biometric exit program. And to that end, SITA says it plans to fully implement biometric boarding at the Orlando International Airport (MCO) by this October.
The news comes after the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority’s approval of a $4 million program to make MCO the first airport in the US to fully deploy the US Customs and Border Protection agency’s Biometric Entry and Exit Program. The program is aimed at biometrically tracking everyone who enters and leaves the United States.
In announcing the continued partnership between the GOAA and SITA, the organizations highlighted a pilot project undertaken this year with British Airways in which registered passengers need only to look at an automated eGate camera in order to board their flights. The organizations say that thanks to this technology, British Airways is now able to board almost 240 passengers in about 15 minutes, with GOAA Chief Information Officer John Newsome calling it “a hugely successful live trial.” Newsome added that the biometric boarding process has proven to be “really popular with passengers” thanks to its speed and convenience.
Going forward, the organizations plan to implement SITA’s Smart Path biometric processing technology to all of Orlando International Airport’s 30 international boarding gates over the next four months, comprising 64 passenger processing lanes in total. SITA will provide maintenance and professional services in addition to the software and hardware needed for the deployments.
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June 12, 2018 – by Alex Perala
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