Global Travel Developments Around Biometric Authentication

The increasing demand for business and leisure travel emerging from the pandemic has changed air travel practices in the last few years and promised passengers a quick, secure and seamless experience. In addition, post-COVID has further changed various aspects of users, from how we pay, network and travel as consumers embracing mobile and touchless technologies, including biometrics. Everyone involved with air and other travel mediums is ready to reap the benefits of the digitisation race.

Among these, one trend of note is the increasing usage of biometric authentication in human journeys. This article will take a deep dive into the recent developments happening around biometric authentication across the globe.

Passport-free Travel in Dubai & Singapore

In the latest developments, Dubai and Singapore will introduce end-to-end biometric clearance. By late 2023, those travelling through Terminal 3 of Dubai Airport will be able to do so without a passport. Facial recognition and biometric ID will allow passengers to clear all necessary procedures without taking out a passport, instead using their fingerprints, face scans or other biometrics for authentication in a ‘smart passage’.

According to media reports, the system would likely be ready in November and promises to replace electronic gates with smart gates for easy and seamless travel. It builds on a comprehensive biometric system deployed by Vision-Box in 2020.

In similar developments, starting in 2024, Singapore’s Changi Airport will implement biometrics for automated authentication throughout the airport experience, including bag drop, boarding and immigration. Changi, often referred to as the best airport in the world, anticipates a return to pre-pandemic traffic levels and hopes the biometric modifications will help make passenger-flow smoother through the airport.

Digital ID is Your Passport – Aruba and SITA

SITA, the IT provider to the air transport industry, and the Government of Aruba have developed Digital Travel Credentials (DTC) that let passengers create a secure digital version of their passport on their mobile device. The digital ID, compliant with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards, is intended to allow travellers to consent to specific data to be available across services, from immigration and customs to tourist destinations such as hotels and car rental agencies.

In a release, Andrew Hoo, Director of Immigration for the Government of Aruba, says the digital ID is aimed at helping people ease into the island experience.

‘We want to use this technology so that visitors will never forget they are on vacation when they arrive on the island,’ says Hoo. ‘As an island where tourism is fundamental to our economy, we want to make the entry/exit process easy for passengers. With a Digital Travel Credential, we now have a way to make entering the country as easy as scanning your face while meeting our security needs.’ 

Proven Solution

In 2018, Dubai International introduced ‘Smart Gates’ that use facial recognition technology to verify passengers’ identities. Similarly, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and London airports have also incorporated facial recognition solutions.

In the United States, major airlines such as American, Delta, and United, along with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), have been conducting trials of biometric check-in options at selected airports.

Mobile Verify Program in the USA

Last year, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) successfully implemented facial biometrics into the entry processes at all international airports, known as ‘Simplified Arrival’, and into the exit processes at 46 airport locations. CBP also expanded facial biometrics at 38 seaports and all pedestrian lanes at both the Southwest and Northern Border ports of entry.

CBP has processed more than 300 million travellers using biometric facial comparison technology, preventing more than 1,800 impostors from entering the US.

Every traveller leaving or entering the US is required to have their passport verified by their airline. Guests travelling internationally on Alaska flights and using US or Canadian passports can also now use the new Mobile Verify program.

India’s Plan for Transforming Railways Network

While the above developments are happening in air travel, a similar trend is moving fast in public transportation, specifically the rail network. The Indian authorities are aiming the technology at increasing passenger safety and enhancing security by linking it to a database of crimes committed in and around railway station premises and addressing the global terrorism threat.

The Railways Department of India is working on installing a facial recognition system (FRS) based on artificial intelligence at all major stations of the East Central Railway (ECR). It has identified at least 200 stations due for a complete security overhaul, a few of which are in the ECR jurisdiction.

According to ECR Chief Public Relations Officer, Birendra Kumar, the railways intend to provide a state-of-the-art security system on par with airports at all the major stations. Kumar added that the FRS will prove a boon to curbing criminal activities on station premises.

Beijing Plan to Curb FRT and Palm Vein Authentication

China has been the biggest user of facial recognition technology (FRT) in the past few years and is now moving towards palm vein authentication.

In July 2023, China’s social media giant Tencent Technologies (WeChat) officially launched Palm Pay, enabling users to conveniently make payments using their palm prints on face recognition devices. In a pilot project, a subway line that links downtown Beijing with Daxing International Airport in the Chinese capital now allows passengers to enter and exit stations by scanning the palm of a hand.

The users who enrol in the palm recognition service can pay for rides on the Daxing Airport Express Line by holding their hands over a scanner at metro station turnstiles. The system allows users to authenticate their transactions by scanning and uploading their palm prints to a ticket machine. They can then link these checked prints to their personal phone number and ID through the WeChat mini program, enabling them to initiate payments.

With this, China sets an example of how palm vein biometric authentication in public transportation can make commuting more convenient. However, the new payment method drew heated discussions on social media, as many netizens have grown increasingly privacy-conscious in a country where biometric data theft is a common occurrence and facial recognition payments have been available for years.

While global developments are happening around FRT, in August 2023, China released draft rules to curb uses of facial recognition, limiting the expansion of a divisive technology while leaving significant carve-outs for national security-related uses.

The draft proposes to restrict the use of the technology to instances where it has a specific purpose and is sufficiently necessary. The rules also ban using technology to identify race, ethnicity, religious belief or health status – applications that haven’t been scientifically proved – unless a person consented to national security. The draft seems aimed at discouraging unnecessary usage of facial recognition technology.

Despite the benefits of biometric authentication technologies, their use causes concern among some groups. Various report findings argue that unchecked facial recognition technology risks potential mass profiling and unwarranted surveillance, especially when linked to crime databases.

The authorities need to walk the fine line between acknowledging public debate and maintaining tight control of the country’s security.