Facial recognition technology speeds up airport boarding

New passport-free process introduced at several boarding gates in Heathrow with plans to continue expanding the service to additional gates.

Making travel more efficient, enjoyable and affordable is something many organizations and projects are working on, with solutions ranging from an app that lets passengers buy frequent flyers’ extra miles to a regulation carry-on bag that includes a pop-out stroller. Now, in the United Kingdom’s Heathrow airport, British Airways has introduced biometric facial recognition technology to help speed up boarding.

When passengers go through security, boarding passes and passports will be checked and each person’s features scanned by biometric devices. That scan will then be repeated at the gate, allowing passengers to board without having to recheck all their documents. The new service is currently available at three gates in Terminal Five, and the company plans to expand the technology to an additional 33 gates in the coming months. Initially available only on domestic flights, the process will eventually be available for international flights, too.

As air travel continues to improve, how could city transport systems adopt some of the most successful innovations for processing high volumes of people safely and efficiently?