Lufthansa has started biometric biometric boarding at New York JFK’s Terminal 1.
New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport is now the fourth U.S. airport with biometric boarding for Lufthansa flights. It means that all passengers are boarded with facial recognition.
In the U.S., biometric boarding relies on data provided by the CBP. The real-time matching rate of passenger images is currently very high, at over 99%, which is a result of the extensive amount of facial recognition data already existing within the CBP database.
How it works:
- Self-boarding gates with facial recognition cameras capture passengers’ facial images as they approach the device
- This image is securely sent to the CBP database for real-time matching and verification
- If the match is successful, he system recognizes the passenger as “boarded”
Bjoern Becker, Senior Director, Product Management Ground and Digital Services for Lufthansa:
A Lufthansa Group priority is to constantly improve our customer experience with modern technology and innovative solutions. With this goal in mind, Lufthansa is taking the necessary steps to continue enhancing travel through technology. One such step is biometric boarding, which provides more rapid solutions when boarding an aircraft. We anticipate for this technology to continue growing and to introduce it to more gateways throughout the United States.”
Lufthansa’s initial biometric boarding trials were a success at LAX in Los Angeles and MCO in Orlando, and then followed by Miami earlier this year.
Passengers interested in trying biometric technology are urged to do so, with the exception of those eligible for preboarding, like families with small children. Those who are weary of the scanners will still have the option to board traditionally with an agent. Lufthansa ensures passenger privacy by only transmitting traveler’s photos and avoids storing them in any Lufthansa database.
N.B. Image credit: Lufthansa
Internet links
Lufthansa (LH)
