San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and United Airlines (UA) are set to trial SITA’s Smart Path biometric solution for domestic travellers on select flights.

The participating passengers can use this technology to connect their driver’s license to their facial biometric scan at airport check-in and then scan their face to move from check-in to bag drop and security check processes.

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SITA noted that the implementation of the biometric solution is a first for US domestic air travel.

It also stated that more than half of the international flights at SFO are using biometrics for boarding in 2020.

The new technology allows the passengers to use their face as their boarding pass and helps to reduce physical contact. It also provides an efficient process for travellers and staff.

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, SFO, United and SITA are working together to provide safe, innovative self-service solutions to reduce passenger contact and agent interactions while improving customer experience and reducing processing times.

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San Francisco International Airport director Ivar Satero said: “We firmly believe that touchless technologies will be an important part of the post-pandemic air travel experience and we are proud that United Airlines has selected SFO as a location to test this solution from SITA.

“This collaboration shows our collective commitment to restoring air travel to an even higher standard of safety and efficiency for our guests. We thank United and SITA for their leadership and vision in this effort.”

On another note, Vision-Box has secured the design, supply, testing, commissioning and maintenance of Single Token solution at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) in Malaysia.

Under the contract, the airport will implement Vision-Box’s Orchestra Digital Identity Management Platform, a touchless and contactless passenger processing technology.

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