Biometric screening, or touchless ID, is coming to an airport near you, and it will speed up your journey — especially through airport security.
I’m a huge fan, and now that more airports are rolling out this technology, I wanted to share what it’s like to use it.
Essentially, the new technology allows facial recognition software to confirm your identity, check you in, print out your bag tags, and walk you through security without showing a boarding pass or pulling identification.
For example, at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Delta Air Lines operates a biometric screening lane that is often the fastest route through security. I used it in Atlanta as well as LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). I found it to be faster than the TSA PreCheck lines and Clear lines.
American Airlines recently announced that it will join Delta and United Airlines, both of which already operate biometric screening at select airports. The version Delta uses is called the “Delta Digital ID” and allows TSA PreCheck members to use facial recognition to get through TSA PreCheck security in just a few seconds.
Future airport security screenings are here
Touchless ID is the future of airport security, and it’s already here. That means passengers can bypass bag drop-off, Transportation Security Administration screening and — at many airports — plane boarding lines, all without showing a boarding pass or even ID in some cases.
“It resonates with people,” said TSA Administrator David Pecoske. Meeting with TPG. “It improves security. It makes it faster, and it’s a better experience for people.”
Both Delta and United also use biometric bag drop, which speeds up wait times to check where baggage is placed.
Technology is spreading, revolutionizing the airport experience for travelers who already use it.
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It is also becoming more common internationally. Facial recognition is increasingly being used to screen passengers at ports of entry with biometrics-enabled electronic gates such as those greeting passengers at Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport (FCO).
The TSA has been experimenting with the technology since 2019. Already, biometrics have been deployed at more than 30 airports across the country, though they have mostly been used at boarding gates to slow down the process of getting passengers onto planes at times. The screen takes your picture and matches it with your ID photo or, alternatively, your actual travel document, such as a passport.
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Clint Henderson/The Points Guy
Here’s how biometric security screening works
I will use Delta as my example because that is the airline I have the most experience with. Delta Digital ID is currently available as part of a pilot program at seven US airports: ATL, JFK, LGA, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. National Airport (DCA).
Delta SkyMiles members with TSA PreCheck and a valid US passport are eligible. To register, you should see a banner ad in the app.
You will need to choose new technology. I got the offer in my Delta Air Lines app when I logged in for the flight because my TSA PreCheck and passport numbers were already in my customer profile and because I was traveling through an airport that was the first to offer biometric security screening.
Once you are selected, you will receive a confirmation, as did my colleague Yemi Kolawole.
Once you’ve completed these steps, your future boarding pass should display a small green box with a rough outline of the profile to the left of the TSA PreCheck symbol.
Next, you’ll need to keep an eye out for signs at bag drop and prominent “Digital ID” badges at security lines at participating airports.
Here are some photos of signs at various airports, including Chicago, New York City, and Atlanta.
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Clint Henderson/The Points Guy
I have now used Touchless ID several times at JFK and LGA in ATL as well as New York City. I’ve found it to be the fastest method of getting through security; He puts me in a special lane and throws me in front of the crowd every time. I often get TSA PreCheck and Clear members priority and get faster access to the screening machines. For example, at JFK, the line for precheck and clear in Terminal 4 can be very long, but there was never a line for the digital ID line when I traveled.
You’ll end up in front of everyone in line for Clear or TSA PreCheck screening.
I also noticed that there are now signs in Terminal B at LGA, where I hope American Airlines will soon allow touchless security screening.
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Clint Henderson/The Points Guy
I’m thrilled with the spread of biometric screening, and I’m excited to see more airlines roll it out at more airports in the coming years. But of course, not everyone is so happy.
What about privacy concerns with touchless or biometric screening?
The head of the TSA told me that many people are skeptical of touchless screening “because they assume that … at some point we’re going to survey people with biometrics, which we’re not going to do. That’s the only use case we have. Other than identity verification.” There are no other use cases.”
Pekoske continued by explaining the program’s commitment to privacy. “It’s in our privacy impact statements. It’s in all of our messaging. And if anyone examined our practices, you’d see us never using it for any purpose other than identity verification,” he said.
Related: Why you should get TSA PreCheck and Clear — and how you can save on both
Others are concerned that the TSA stores facial images forever and that people are giving up their privacy protections. However, Pekosk told me that as soon as a passenger opts out of identity verification, that data is erased the same day. “We don’t keep it,” Pecoske said.
He said the TSA prioritizes privacy protections in the development of facial recognition technology. “We don’t retain your data, and it’s audited,” Pekoske said.
US Customs and Border Protection also says it protects the data of travelers arriving in the US during border checks. According to CBP, photos of Americans are deleted within 12 hours, but they store photos of all non-citizens for 75 years.
What about racial or ethnic profiling?
There have been concerns over the years that the TSA, or the US Department of Homeland Security, sometimes racially or ethnically profiles people. Pecoske insisted that’s not true, and that it’s an issue that the government as a whole is very sensitive to.
“Some people still feel that technology works differently for different tourist demographic groups — you know, dark-skinned individuals,” he said. However, Pecoske said that never happened. “They’re probably reading articles from five, six, seven, eight years ago that some algorithm had differential performance that we never used.”
Pekoske continued: “We always test on it. When I say it’s not TSA. It’s the Department of Homeland Security. So it’s at arm’s length from me because I want it that way. I don’t want it. My own Be the examiner, and all the studies we’ve done on this show that there are no statistically significant differences between demographic groups.”
He said the TSA puts privacy protection first, and also said there are no differential operations across the system.
The bottom line
Ready or not, the age of biometrics is here.
Touchless security screening is already available at many major airline hubs, and more are on the way. After using it for the past year or so, I’ve been thrilled with the speed it gets me through security (and customs). I’m looking forward to the tech rolling out to more airports, and I can’t wait until American Airlines starts using it more next year. I will be among the first to sign up.
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