Facial recognition is now an option for passengers on Emirates daily flight from Dallas Fort Worth to Dubai.
The biometric technology provides a more efficient and less expensive way to process passengers for boarding international flights.
The new biometric boarding system means that passengers can board the aircraft without showing a boarding pass at the departure gate. Passengers travelling on EK222 have the option of using the biometric process.
At the gate their facial biometrics are captured by a camera in a tablet and matched to the biometrics in their passport. If the match (and other background checks) is successful, the passenger is cleared to board. The process should take a few seconds.
DFW expects to roll out biometric boarding for all airlines with international routes from the airport – 14 carriers at 78 different gates. Implementation will be on-going over the next years.
The system, veriScan, developed by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, is software that is loaded on a tablet computer. The software encrypts and sends high-resolution photos of passengers boarding international flights to the CBP Traveler Verification Service for nearly instant identity verification. When integrated with airline boarding systems, veriScan streamlines the boarding process by eliminating the need for boarding passes.
Dallas Fort Worth awarded the contract to The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority in March for the implementation of the veriScan biometric screening system.
Emirates started using the veriScan facial recognition biometric boarding system at Dulles International Airport in June.
Baggage handling robots
In June, DFW Airport started a trial of autonomous baggage vehicles. The FLEET robotic system can handle nearly 450 bags per hour and is being tested with transfer passengers who arrive from international flights and connect through DFW.
Passengers who participate in the trial use one of four self-bag drop units and identify the airline for their connecting flight using the touch screen. Each FLEET vehicle will transport an individual piece of luggage, transferring the passenger’s bag to the appropriate baggage belt.
The FLEET system comes from Dutch company Vanderlande.
N.B. Image credit: DFW Airport
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Dallas Forth Worth International (DFW)
