For years there has been talk of implementing facial recognition technology, to simplify airport procedures in complete safety: now it’s Milan Linate Airport, first in Italy to introduce Faceboarding. From now on, passengers will be able to board much faster, without the need to have paper documents with them. Let’s find out how it works and what changes for travelers.
What is Faceboarding
The airport of nutswhich also in 2023 was awarded the title of the best airport in Europe, leads the way in the use of Faceboarding. This is a new biometric recognition technology to simplify security checks on the ground, thus making pre-boarding procedures much faster. The system is really very simple and intuitive: after having uploaded your documents into the appropriate app (this can also be done in the airport, as we will see later), passengers just have to put their face next to a camera present in the totems installed before the turnstiles.
U scanning of facial features, which takes place through special interfaces equipped with recognition systems, will allow you to pass the security checks in a few moments, without the need to show your paper documents. “The service is available to all airlines that want to integrate their check-in and boarding systems with the Faceboarding system. This service optimizes the passenger experience at the airport by allowing those who have previously registered reduce inspection times of their identity documents and increasing their security ” – we read in a note from Sea, the company that manages Linate airport.
And as for privacy? Travelers can also be assured on this front: in line with the digitization measures promoted by the European Union, Faceboarding stores the data on three separate servers, without keeping any photos and deleting the registration data after one year. It is therefore a system that guarantees maximum security and the right amount of privacy for passengers, in a period in which a significant increase in flow is expected. “This year we are expecting an increase in passengers between 8 and 10%” – he said Armando BruniniCEO of Sea.
Linate, which changes for passengers
But in a few words, how is Faceboarding implemented at l The airport of Linate and second Tuesday, May 7, 2024? First of all, passengers should register their documents on the airport app or directly on site, thanks to the dedicated kiosks. Once the documents are uploaded, the system will link each traveler’s face to their ID card or passport. So all that’s left is bring your face closer to the appropriate totems and wait a few moments for the camera to scan the biometric traits.
All this leads to a remarkable simplification of control and boarding procedures: once they have passed the scanners, in fact, passengers no longer have to show any paper documents, reducing check-in times. The system has already been tested right in Linate, on the road that connects the Milanese airport to that of Rome Fiumicino, demonstrating its operation. And now it is available to all travelers, to allow them to board greater speed and without sacrificing safety.