ACI EUROPE, Amadeus, IATA, IDEMIA Public Security and SITA have formed a travel-industry coalition calling for European Union legislation that supports voluntary biometric verification throughout a passenger’s journey.
The group wants the EU’s Digital Omnibus initiative to provide a clearer legal framework for airport and travel operators using biometrics. Its manifesto, Advancing Responsible Biometrics in Europe, proposes common principles for secure, privacy-controlled services across different stages of travel.
The coalition is seeking rules that let passengers choose biometric processing for a defined journey while retaining access to non-biometric alternatives. Participation would be voluntary, and travelers would be able to withdraw and have their biometric data deleted at any time.
It also calls for technology-neutral legislation. That would let operators implement different technical approaches while meeting common requirements for security, passenger choice and data protection, rather than having the law prescribe a particular system.
The initiative brings together an airport trade association, an airline association, travel-technology suppliers and a biometric identity provider. The partners are presenting a shared industry position to EU policymakers, rather than announcing an enacted change to European data-protection law.
The proposed approach covers an end-to-end journey instead of isolated biometric checks. Passengers could use an opted-in identity process across multiple travel touchpoints, with the participating organizations responsible for keeping the exchange within the agreed journey and privacy conditions.
Airports already use facial verification in passenger services outside the EU. At Hamad International Airport, Qatar Airways and SITA introduced a face-based Fast Pass across check-in, baggage handling, security and boarding.
That service allows enrollment through a mobile application or airport kiosks and retains conventional, staff-assisted processing for passengers who do not use the biometric option. Its deployment spans more than 700 airport touchpoints.
The World Travel & Tourism Council has also placed biometrics and interoperable digital standards among its travel-growth priorities. Its recommendations drew on more than 200 industry interviews and identified fragmented processes as an obstacle to connected journeys.
The new coalition’s proposal centers on passenger control: a biometric journey would be an option, access to travel services would remain available without it, and consent could be withdrawn with deletion of the associated biometric data.
Sources: ACI EUROPE
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
