Self-check in at airports makes things a lot easier, so you can just punch in a PNR number and be on your way with a boarding pass.
Now the Bengaluru International Airport says it¡¯s improving even the security process with facial recognition.
The private airport operator has signed a partnership deal with Lisbon-based Vision-Box, a biometric solutions provider, for the project. The idea is that cameras will track fliers faces as they move across the airport and match them with existing databases. That way, once you enter the airport, you won¡¯t have to present your identification or boarding pass at multiple checkpoints.?
Vision-Box has already been running pilots at the Los Angeles International Airport in the US, in partnership with certain airlines. In that case, the facial recognition tech has been implemented into self check-in kiosks, with face captures being matched against records gathers by the Department of Border Control and Immigration.
In Bangalore¡¯s case, it seems the system will rely on an initial face capture when you check in or at the airport doors. That capture can be matched against a person¡¯s Aadhaar records and booking to confirm their ticket, and then be added to a tracking pool monitoring fliers in the airport until they depart on a flight.
The Vision-Box facial recognition system at Buenos Aires International Airport - Image courtesy: Vision-Box
The move is part of BIAL¡¯s attempts to implement the government¡¯s DigiYatra program. The aim is to minimise paperwork for air travel, by controlling airport entry and flight boarding using a passenger¡¯s Aadhaar number and mobile phone. ¡°Vision-Box¡¯s biometric technology, combined with its passenger flow platform will enable a seamless journey for our passengers, from registration to boarding,¡± says Hari Marar, managing director and CEO of BIAL.
The new facial recognition technology is expected to be in place by the first quarter of 2019, with? Jet Airways, Air Asia and SpiceJet passengers being the first to implement it. It will make Bangalore¡¯s airport the first in India to have a completely end-to-end paperless travel system.