Airport tests facial recognition technology for hassle-free boarding

Airport tests facial recognition technology for hassle-free boarding

Finnair is testing using facial recognition to board passengers.

Instead of bringing tickets and I.D. to the check in gate passengers in Helsinki can keep their hands in their pockets. A gate agent only need snap a picture of the person’s face and match it with selfies uploaded to the airline’s system.

Sari Nevanlinna, head of Ground Experience and Ancillary at Finnair, explained how the technology works.

“No other airline is doing what we are doing so far. So we honestly, we can trace the customers while they move and nobody else has that, so that’s a great benefit. So, you really don’t have to go to a separate booth to take the pictures and do the validation of the recognition, but you can actually just keep walking and proceeding towards the gate. And we immediately know who you are and where you’re traveling to,” said Nevanlinna.

Some are worried about the privacy concerns of recognizing a person without their consent. Technical glitches are also an issue. Faces are not recognized with 100 percent accuracy.

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