Vision-Box and Terminal One Group Association (TOGA) have partnered to launch biometric boarding at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport’s Terminal 1.
Lufthansa is the launch carrier deploying the one-step paperless biometric boarding process at their largest U.S. gateway. Air France, Japan Airlines, and Norwegian Airlines are expected to follow suit soon.
Vision-Box’s Orchestra biometric platform is designed to securely identify travelers with a brief glance at a camera and instantly verify their identity with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The one-step process validates the eligibility of the traveler without having to present a passport or boarding pass.
The self-boarding eGates are integrated with an advanced face capture unit. The image is securely sent to the CBP TVS (Traveler Verification Service), which conducts a matching process with the stored digital facial token, captured at the initial immigration process or from the U.S. passport. The positive match of both verifications triggers the eGate doors to open and the passenger can board the airplane.
The boarding system is certified by the Privacy-by-Design seal, which means that personal biographic and biometric data is managed by a thoroughly audited and certified software platform designed for maximum protection. No personal data or images are stored by private entities and only U.S. government maintains the U.S. departure information.
The deployment of biometric boarding has strategic benefits for the U.S. government as well. The boarding solution was fast tracked for use by CBP’s Biometric Exit program, with positive results outlined in the Fiscal Year 2018 Entry/Exit Overstay Report by the Department of Homeland Security. Within the next four years, it is expected that CBP’s Biometric Exit technology will cover more than 97% of departing commercial air travelers.
