Biometric Tech Is Changing The Way Airports Work

As the first biometric terminal launches in Atlanta, we examine the impact that the technology will have on air travel

- Jenni Reid

Biometric authentication – matching someone’s unique physical traits against a database to confirm they are who they say they are – has excited the imagination for decades. Back in 1971’s Diamonds are Forever, James Bond outwitted an adversary using a fake fingerprint. Captain Kirk used a voice-recognition system to blow up the USS Enterprise. And the Mission: Impossible team have disproved the franchise’s title time and time again by bypassing biometric access including iris, facial and gait recognition.

On a bright November morning at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport, the technology’s real-world adoption is looking somewhat less dramatic. Tired-looking passengers form a queue about a hundred deep into Terminal F, shuffling forward to board a 15-hour flight to Seoul Incheon. There is little to indicate that they are among the pioneer users of the first ever “biometric terminal” in the US, save for the small camera right before the jetway that is approving passengers just a few seconds faster than a human agent would.

But there is no doubt that what is happening is a huge step towards the airport experience of the future. The passengers were able to use face recognition technology to check in for the flight, drop off their luggage, pass through security, and now to board the aircraft. US Customs and Border Protection obtained the image they were matched against through visa applications, submission of their passport details online, or through a self-service passport scan when they arrived at the airport.