Frankfurt Airport First in Europe to Offer Full-coverage Biometric Systems

Photo source: Fraport AG

Multinational information technology company SITA and German transport company Fraport AG are enabling all airlines at Frankfurt Airport to jointly use face biometrics as identification from check-in to boarding the aircraft.

Fraport on Thursday said Frankfurt’s airport is the first in Europe to offer biometric touchpoints to all airline passengers, enabling streamlined, frictionless passage throughout the airport.

Using SITA’s Smart Path biometric solution, powered by NEC, a traveler’s face becomes the boarding pass. Passengers can securely register in advance on their mobile device through the Star Alliance biometric app or directly at the check-in kiosk with their biometrics-enabled passports. The whole registration process only takes a few seconds.

Once registered, passengers pass through the facial recognition-equipped checkpoints without showing any physical documents. The new technology is already in use by more than 12,000 passengers at check-in, boarding pass control and boarding gates.

Photo source: audiovisual.ec.europa.eu

Fraport AG’s Executive Director Aviation and Infrastructure, Dr. Pierre Dominique Prümm, said Frankfurt’s airport has been offering the innovative service since 2020 together with Lufthansa and the Star Alliance airlines.

“An experience – with the help of SITA and NEC – which will now be extended to all airlines… Our goal for the coming months is to equip at least 50 percent of all check-in kiosks, pre-security and boarding gates with the new and pioneering technology,” he said.

SITA’s biometric solution leverages the NEC I:Delight digital identity management platform, ranked the world’s most accurate face recognition technology in vendor tests conducted by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This means passengers who have opted to use the service can be identified quickly and accurately, even on the move.

“Biometric touchpoints significantly speed up the mandatory steps in the airport, giving passengers more time to relax before the flight rather than waiting in line,” SITA CEO David Lavorel said.

According to research by SITA, where biometrics are introduced, more than 75 percent of passengers will “gladly” use them.