Miami International Airport (MIA) announced Tuesday that it will equip all of its more than 130 boarding gates with biometric facial recognition technology by 2023.
The move at Florida’s second-largest airport will be “the largest implementation of biometrics in any U.S. airport.”
Critics rightfully voiced their concerns over personal privacy.
USA: Miami International Airport says all of its passenger gates will feature face biometric boarding by 2023 to forge what the airport operator says is the largest implementation of biometrics in any U.S. airport.https://t.co/OMMFkwZjwV
— Luther (@LutherBurgsvik) May 18, 2022
Leveraging SITA’s Smart Path solution and NEC’s identity management platform, biometric boarding will soon be a reality for passengers departing Miami International Airport. https://t.co/mP8N1bpDvK#technology #airports #biometrics #paxexp pic.twitter.com/sN54K6068W
— SITA (@SITAonline) May 17, 2022
From Miami International Airport:
Passengers departing from Miami International Airport will soon be able to board their international flights with just the quick, touchless click of a camera, thanks to a recently approved contract that will implement biometric boarding at all of MIA’s 130-plus gates.
Installation is expected to be fully completed in 2023. When finished, the project will be the largest implementation of biometric technology at any U.S. airport.
Biometric Update added:
The project will incorporate the SITA Smart Path that allows passengers to use their face biometrics as a boarding pass using technology from NEC. MIA says it will merely require passengers to step in front of a camera at a boarding gate and have their identity verified.
The airport expects all of its 130-plus gates to have the biometric boarding systems installed by 2023. Ralph Cutié, director and CEO of MIA, says, “We look forward to elevating our passenger experience with this state-of-the-art boarding solution. MIA is now the busiest U.S. airport for international travel and continues to set new records each month for passenger growth. Biometric boarding is one of the major steps we are taking to pave the way for additional growth in the years to come.”
“Globally we see that passengers want a faster journey through the airport where key steps in the journey are automated,” SITA Americas President Matthys Serfontein comments. “Our Smart Path biometric solution will enable future expansion to other touchpoints at MIA as well as the use of multiple forms of digital identity.”
MIA’s Maurice Jenkins, who recently joined a panel with CBP and Idemia representatives to discuss the future of airport biometrics, explains in a video that while the airport has already reached full biometric identity verification coverage for arriving international flights, it will not extend the service to outbound international flights.
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