Air Canada rolls out facial recognition technology at boarding gates for domestic flights

12/04/2024 / By Ava Grace

Air Canada has rolled out facial recognition technology at its gates in Canadian airports.

The incorporation of facial recognition technology for boarding domestic flights is regarded as a massive expansion of the airline’s digital identification program. According to Air Canada, the technology is designed to offer passengers a quicker and more streamlined boarding experience while adhering to Transport Canada’s biometric implementation guidelines. (Related: AI, palm scanners, facial recognition, augmented reality and more: The dystopian future is NOW.)

As the first Canadian airline to implement facial recognition for domestic flights, Air Canada enables passengers to verify their identities within seconds at camera-equipped gates, removing the necessity for physical IDs or boarding passes.

Air Canada said its implementation of facial recognition for domestic flights complies with the International Air Transport Association’s One ID initiative, which aims to create seamless passenger experiences through digital identity management.

Launched as a pilot project in February 2023, the digital ID option has been available at Air Canada’s Maple Leaf lounges in Toronto, Calgary and San Francisco, and the airline plans to unveil it at other Canadian airport gates.

The software, which analyzes the unique physical identifiers of a traveler’s face, has also raised concerns around privacy and ethics, though Air Canada notes that the option has no links to government programs.

Use of facial recognition technology expanding in Canada

The new digital ID system has been rolled out at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) for domestic flights across Canada, including major destinations such as Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa.

Currently, customers who board domestic Air Canada flights at YVR will be able to walk onto the plane without needing to present any physical pieces of identification, such as a passport or a driver’s license. Air Canada claims the integration of facial recognition technology at its gates enables a fully contactless boarding procedure that can process passengers in just three seconds.

Air Canada claims this process will be done while maintaining strict privacy standards under federal Canadian personal information protection laws.

To handle the facial recognition technology, YVR has partnered with Spain-based private tech firm Amadeus to complete the airport’s “digital transformation.” The airport will specifically be migrating all of its operations to the cloud through the Amadeus Flow, a “cloud solution to manage passenger services end-to-end, inside and outside airport terminals.”

Tech administrators say that the cloud-based Amadeus Flow allows its airline partners to move away from fixed check-in desks and service locations. Agents will instead be able to use mobile devices to go about their jobs, which means that passengers will not need to cluster at designated chokepoints to complete their travel journey. The move is expected to support better social distancing, and reduce the size of service lines.

Amadeus Flow will also enable more biometric service options. Passengers will eventually be able to check in and pass through airport checkpoints with only a facial recognition scan, and without needing to present a physical boarding pass or a passport. The tech is part of a contactless passenger experience.

The implementation of facial recognition at YVR comes as the Canada Border Services Agency expands its use of facial recognition for border processing.

Watch this video from Marjory Wildcraft discussing the implementation of facial recognition technology at airports.

This video is from the Marjory Wildcraft channel on Brighteon.com.