Korean Air has introduced biometric self-boarding services for the first time in Korea.
Passengers can pass through five of Korean Air’s domestic boarding gates at Gimpo Airport with a scan of their palms. It means they do not have to show their paper or mobile boarding pass.
The palm vein scan is unique to each person like the iris or face. It allows the airline to check the passenger’s identification and boarding pass information by matching the live scan with their pre-registered information.
Korean Air expects the system to increase efficiency, strengthen security and significantly reduce flight boarding times.
To use biometric self-boarding, passengers must register their palm vein information at the self-registration desk on the departure floor of Gimpo Airport. This can be done by presenting an ID card and providing consent to the use of their personal information. The service is eligible to Korean citizens seven years of age or older.
The airline plans to expand the service to all domestic departure gates at Gimpo by the end of the year, and to Busan Gimhae in August 2022. Plans are in place to also expand the service to international departures.
Korean Air already uses facial recognition for self-boarding in Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York and Singapore.
The airline has introduced the service in conjunction with state-owned Korea Airports Corporation (KAC) who run 14 airports in Korea.
KAC is working on more plans to use biometrics at its airports. It has already introduced palm vein verification at airport security checkpoints.
In future, passengers will use palm vein authentication to buy food and use self-service kiosks for various services.
N.B. Image credit: Korean Air
