Air New Zealand Opts for Biometric Facial Recognition

After a successful trial at Los Angeles Airport, Passengers of Air New Zealand were among the first to experience biometric verification at the boarding gate last week.

It is one of the initiatives taken by Air New Zealand to help travellers move through the airport seamlessly. There will be no need to show passports or scan boarding passes.

Travellers, upon entering the US, can use their biometric information to register with Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The same data can be used to verify each passenger’s identity at the time of boarding by using the automated airport kiosks. This Biometric information can not be directly accessed by Air New Zealand or other airlines using this service since they are secured by CBP.

Nikhil Ravishankar, the Chief Digital Officer of Air New Zealand, said, “We’ve heard from customers that they want their airport experience to be hassle-free and technology is a key enabler of that. According to IATA, more than 75 per cent of customers see huge value in biometric verification and want to use it instead of passports and boarding passes.

“The feedback from the more than 1000 customers who have used this technology to board our flights has been really positive.”

San Francisco ranked top among the airline’s other US ports.

“Contactless technology changes are coming thick and fast and we’re continuing to learn and adapt to new innovations that will make travel easier. In the new travel era, we need simplicity, not complexity.”

The airline upgraded its Air NZ App earlier this month which has been downloaded almost 2.3 million times.

“Using biometrics at the boarding gate is only the beginning and we’re in talks with industry players, globally and here in New Zealand, about how we can use biometric technology throughout the whole airport process.”

This is another step towards our ambition to become the world’s leading digital airline, and is the result of months of hard mahi, planning and collaboration.”