The usual rush at the airport looking for the departure card or check-in at the last minute may soon become things from the past. Plans are being prepared for a major transformation in the way we travel by plane, promoted by the Organization of International Civil Aviation (Icao), the United Nations responsible for the regulation of the sector.
The new “digital travel credentials”
According to The Times, Icao aims to implement a “digital travel credential” that will allow passengers to store passport data directly on their mobile phones. This new reality may begin to be implemented in the next three years.
Obligation to check-in
Currently, passengers are required to check in, whether online or at the airport, to get the boarding card, which is then checked at various points, including the boarding door, as refers to. With the new system, both traditional check-in and paper card would no longer be needed.
Alternatively, travelers would unload a “Journey Pass” to the mobile phone shortly after the reservation. This pass would be updated automatically whenever there were changes to the flight.
Use of facial recognition
In addition, it would be possible to load the passport to the mobile device and use facial recognition to confirm the identity. Airline systems would be automatically alerted when the passenger arrived at the airport, simply by going through safety controls to be identified.
For Valérie Viale, director of Product Management at Amadeus, a technology company for the travel sector, this is a revolution: “The last major change was the introduction of the electronic ticket in the early 2000s. Now, industry has decided to evolve into something more modern, inspired by systems like Amazon.”
High investments
However, this evolution will require significant investments. Airports will have to install facial recognition equipment and update their systems to read passport data from mobile devices.
“Many airline systems have been in unchanged for over 50 years because they need to work together and be compatible with each other,” adds Viale.
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Privacy
The introduction of these technologies naturally raises concerns about privacy. However, Amadeus ensures that it has developed a safe solution: Passenger data is eliminated up to 15 seconds after each use at a control point, such as boarding doors.
Great advantages for passengers
The advantages for passengers may be significant. For example, in case of loss of a delayed binding flight, the passenger would immediately receive a new notification on the mobile phone with the new flight data. Journey Pass would be automatically updated without the need to contact any counter or airline.
“Currently, the systems are very compartmentalized,” explains Viale. “There is the reserve system, which communicates with check-in, but in a limited way. In the future, everything will be continuous and integrated-Journey Pass will be dynamic.”
New experience for world aviation
If these changes are realized, the plane travel experience can become simpler, faster and adapted to the needs of each passenger, marking the beginning of a new era in world aviation.
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