SITA Research Puts Numbers to Biometric Air Travel’s Ascent

New research data from SITA is further illustrating the ascent of biometric air travel.

Based on surveys of more than 180 senior IT executives from airports and airlines around the world, the research found an industry busily working toward a biometric future. It found that 71 percent of airlines and 77 percent of airports “are planning major programs or R&D in biometric ID management,” according to a report summary. Much of this activity will revolve around automated biometric gates, with 59 percent of airports and 63 percent of airlines expecting to implement such technology over the next three years.

As a corollary, artificially intelligence will also play a growing role in the coming years, with 81 percent of airline respondents indicating that they’re planning to implement initiatives by 2021, an increase of 52 percent compared to a similar survey conducted last year. Meanwhile, 61 percent of airport respondents are planning major AI programs or R&D efforts over the coming years, reflecting a similar jump in interest compared to the 34 percent who answered this way a year ago.

Much of this work is already underway, of course – particularly with respect to biometrics, and especially in the US, where government authorities and private sector air travel interests are increasingly working together to implement biometric passenger screening systems. But SITA is now putting some compelling numbers behind these trends, further underscoring the upwards trajectory of air travel biometrics.

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September 28, 2018 – by Alex Perala