As airports prepare for the busy summer period, they are facing a new set of challenges — dealing with the public health crisis and complying with new regulations on freedom of movement within the Schengen Area. Thales technologies enable airport operators, airlines and border officials to enhance the travel experience and increase security at four main points around the airport.
Passengers can check in remotely from any location (home, hotel, etc.) using their airline’s mobile app. The identity of each individual can then be instantly verified with face recognition software, using a combination of a selfie taken by the passenger, liveness detection and a document authenticity check. The face recognition solution checks approximately 40 points on the passenger’s face and issues an alert if there is any doubt about their identity.
Based on this identity verification and facial biometrics, a temporary digital token is then created for each passenger. The passenger’s face then identifies them at check-in, bag drop-off, security, passport control and the boarding gate, removing the need to show a ticket and ID card at each checkpoint. The system analyzes the facial features of an individual in real time, even when they are wearing a surgical mask, and matches it to the corresponding digital identity in the system. No personal data or photos are stored; an encrypted code created during check-in is the only reference the system requires.
This biometric solution for boarding gates reduces boarding times by one-third. The system erases the temporary token once the aircraft has taken off.
Using high-performance algorithms, Thales’ tools and solutions enable airport operators and other stakeholders to model flight arrivals and departures as well as other airport data and run simulations. Based on those simulations, they can anticipate possible travel disruptions (late or canceled flights) and adjust resource availability on the ground to improve the passenger experience and reduce waiting times.
Under the new requirements for member states of the Schengen Area, non-European nationals arriving in France will soon be able to use Thales’ self-service border kiosks to pre-register their identity, including their biometric data (fingerprint and facial biometrics), in less than one minute.
Several ports of entry (airports, ports, train stations) are due to be equipped with Thales’ border kiosks between now and May 2022.
