Category: Security

Imagine a day when a passenger could present a single form of ID that would ensure a smooth path through the airport at the very start of his or her journey through the boarding process.

That’s exactly what International Air Transport Association (IATA) has in mind with its concept, ONE ID that would enable a secure, seamless and “frictionless” process allowing them to walk through the airport “without breaking stride.”

IATA confirmed through its 2017 Global Passenger survey that passengers want more automation of airport processes. They would like a single identity token that would be used through all processes, real time information sent to the personal devices and more efficient security without removing or unpacking personal items. Some 82 percent said they would like to be able to use a digital passport on their smart phones for as many travel activities as possible. To meet such a goal, there will have to be close collaboration between various industry and government stakeholders for a solution that applies horizontally across the end to end passenger experience, according to IATA’s Guido Peetermans, Head of Passenger Security. “All stakeholders will benefit from a coordinated approach through improved productivity, increased capacity and cost savings as well as improvements in border, aviation and airport infrastructure security.”

Peetersmans noted that ONE ID does not favor one particular form of biometrics. “While facial recognition may be the most pragmatic choice in many environments, other jurisdictions or stakeholders may prefer other biometrics such as fingerprint or iris for technical, operational or cultural reasons.”

A major barrier to implementing a collaborative identity management solution is to establish trust and collaboration between stakeholders, Peetermans said. “Today, individual stakeholders take steps to ensure their own obligations are met, but with little or no coordination between them. We will need to break these silos and get stakeholders to collaborate towards a solution that would apply horizontally across the whole process.”

Peetermans said that an upfront investment in the new technology required for biometric recognition is required but it is increasingly mature and moving forward at a rapid pace.

“We don’t believe that the installation and integration of the technology components are going to be the bottleneck as is evidenced by various pilot projects that are underway at leading airports around the globe.”